The Key of Hogwarts
by Akalea
Summary: What if the Key was created at Hogwarts to be protected? Will the Scooby Gang still find out? Dawn is created as a sister of one of the Golden Trio.
1. Prologue The Key

Title: The Key of Hogwarts  
  
Author: Akalea  
  
Rating: PG-13 - I don't how far this will go.  
  
Pairings: Buffy/?, Dawn/Harry, Ron/Hermione, Xander/Anya (There might be others later, or these may change)  
  
Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)  
  
Summary: What if the Key was created at Hogwarts to be protected? Will the Scooby Gang still find out?  
  
Author's Note: Okay, I'm nervous. Starting a new story and trying to write some concepts in which I have no experience writing about. I'm trying my hand at putting some couples in my story, which is something I haven't done before, so please be nice.   
  
My other story didn't really get much interest from people, so I hope this goes better. Please review so I know that people are reading it. Give me advice, praise and criticism (hopefully of the constructive type). Okay, I'm shutting up now.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
The Key of Hogwarts  
  
  
  
Prologue - The Key  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy patrolled the dangerous town of Sunnydale as she did every night. Wandering the dark streets and the cemeteries, searching for any paranormal activity.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Jeez, evil must be taking a night off," Buffy said to herself, looking around at the quiet and deserted streets. "Either that, or they're planning something big."  
  
  
  
  
  
She continued to walk, clutching her favourite stake, trying to ignore her boredom.  
  
  
  
  
  
After at least another hour of no odd occurrences, she shrugged and gave up. She turned in the direction of her house and headed towards home.  
  
  
  
  
  
Passing an old factory on her way home, she noticed something odd. She went closer to investigate what appeared to be something on the ground. As she got closer, she recognised it as a body.  
  
  
  
  
  
She rushed over to find out if they were still alive. It was a man, dressed in a brown cape or cloak; he looked like he was a monk or something along those lines.  
  
  
  
  
  
He was severely injured. Deep cuts, gouges and bruises covered his body. Small pools of blood were left on the surrounding ground.  
  
  
  
  
  
After feeling a pulse, she tried to sit him up against a nearby fence and wake him up. As she did so, his eyes fluttered open and he turned his injured head to look at Buffy.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you alright," Buffy said asking the obvious. "Who did this to you?"  
  
  
  
  
  
He began to speak, his voice weak. "A god named Glory, she's looking for 'the Key'."  
  
  
  
  
  
"What is 'the Key'?" She asked, baffled.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It is energy, a portal that opens the door," He paused and a look of pain crossed his face. "Quickly, you mustn't let her get it."  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't get it, why does this Glory chick want the Key?"  
  
  
  
  
  
The monk's voice was getting weaker. "S-she doesn't belong here. She wants to get home to her dimension and she can do that when she gets the Key, but she'll be breaking down the walls that separate dimensions in the process."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy frowned. "And that's not a good thing, I gather. So where is the Key, what does it look like?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"We tried to hide it by making it in human form and disguising it as a girl who goes to Hogwarts, in England." He answered, rushing because he knew he had little time left. "Glory knows it's in England now, soon she'll be there - looking for it. You mustn't let her find 'the Key'."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hogwarts, what-" She was cut of by a groan of pain from the man.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Good luck." He spoke on his last breath before his head fell back and he lay there, lifeless.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy slowly, and softly, rested his head on the ground and stood up. Many thoughts were rushing through her head.  
  
  
  
  
  
She turned around slowly and then sprinted all the way to 1630 Revello Drive, her home. She rushed in through the front door and entered the lounge room, where the Scooby's, minus Giles, sat curled up on the couches with blankets and pillows.  
  
  
  
  
  
Her mother, Joyce Summers, appeared behind her, carrying a tray containing a large bowl of popcorn and several drinks.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Back so soon, honey?" She asked softly, in her usual tone.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh well, it's good you're here now, Buf." Xander interrupted. "We were almost about to start a movie without you."  
  
  
  
  
  
With the conversation from earlier still running through her head, Buffy kept a serious face and spoke up. "We need to get Giles over here, I have a lot to tell you guys."   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Well that's the Prologue, don't worry, it's meant to be short and the other chapters will hopefully be three times longer. Anyway, now you've read the first part, please tell me what you think. :) 


	2. Heading for Hogwarts

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Hey again! Back with Chapter 1 now! I'm getting more and more excited about this story, the more I write. It's so much different from my other ones.  
  
A small note, there is a bit of time difference from Sunnydale and England. The stuff that's happening in Sunnydale is happening a few days before what you're about to read which is in England. Also, in case you hadn't already figured Buffy has just started Season 5, in this story. Harry Potter is set in their fifth, except like Buffy's Season 5; it's a bit different than what really happened in book 5.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 1 - Heading for Hogwarts  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn Granger, a fifth year Gryffindor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sat in a compartment on the Hogwarts Express with her friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, and her non-identical twin sister, Hermione Granger.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Honestly, is that all you two talk about?" Hermione mocked the two boys sitting across from her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, Quidditch is life, 'Mione." Ronald Weasley answered back.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn smirked and raised her eyebrows with inquiry as she looked at her sister. Hermione ignored the look and tuned back into her book, so instead Dawn looked over at Harry who'd also picked up on the 'Mione'.  
  
  
  
  
  
They smiled at each other; they'd have to talk about that to Ron and Hermione later on.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, Angelina's captain," Dawn continued the conversation the boys were having before Hermione's comment. "That still means you need a new keeper though."  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry nodded. "The try-outs for it wouldn't be too far off, I would expect. Are you thinking of trying out for the position?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn smiled. "Maybe I am. But I don't know if I'd be good enough, and I get a bit nervous flying with people watching."  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm sure you'll be fine, just start practicing a couple evenings, before dinner, a week and your confidence will build up." Harry responded genuinely.  
  
  
  
  
  
Out of the corner of her eye, she could now see Hermione peering up slightly from her book, with a mocking smile on her face. Dawn stuck her tongue out in response at her twin.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's going on?" Ron asked, carefully watching the exchange.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry shrugged. "Probably some 'twin thing'."  
  
  
  
  
  
There were often times when Hermione and Dawn didn't have to talk to know what the other was thinking, or was going to say. People usually referred to this as a 'twin thing'.  
  
  
  
  
  
The sun was setting outside the Hogwarts Express, which meant only one thing: they'd be arriving at their second home, Hogwarts, very soon. The two boys left the compartment and went to get changed first.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn turned to face her sister. "Okay, what's going on?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione closed her book. "What are you talking about?" She questioned, trying to sound innocent and ignorant.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn laughed. "Oh right, as if you didn't notice, 'Mione." She teased.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione didn't respond but instead attempted to change the subject. "I should be asking that question to you!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn stood up and gathered up her robes and Hogwarts uniform.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm going to go and get changed now." She said quickly as she raced out the door.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione laughed loudly, making sure Dawn could hear as she rushed from the compartment.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wonder who the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher is going to be, maybe there won't be any class because they can't find a teacher." Ron hypothesised as they returned into the compartment.  
  
  
  
  
  
They collect up the junk they'd left sprawled over the seats and on the floor of the train.  
  
  
  
  
  
Just as they opened the door to exit the compartment, an all too familiar sneering face appeared in the doorway, surrounded by his usual two vacant-looking sidekicks.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, if it isn't Potty, Weasel and the Mudbloods!" Malfoy sneered, using his usual lame nicknames for them, although one of them was more serious than the others.  
  
  
  
  
  
The four Gryffindors drew out their wands and pointed them at Malfoy. Ron stepped forward; ready to curse him but Harry stuck out his arm and stopped him.  
  
  
  
  
  
Malfoy laughed. "As usual Potter, being the ringleader of this freak show."  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry stepped forward. "You better run along, Malfoy, before we all curse you into the next century." He threatened.  
  
  
  
  
  
With all four of their faces unchanged, their arms still pointing their wands, Malfoy, followed by Crabbe and Goyle, fled the scene.  
  
  
  
  
  
The continued their way out of the compartment, placing their wands back in their pockets.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn stepped off the Hogwarts Express and onto the platform. She fought her way across the platform filled with other students of all sizes.  
  
  
  
  
  
She hopped into a carriage, followed by Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville, who'd found them on the station platform. The doors shut, and the carriage made it's way up to the castle, amongst the hundred other carriages.  
  
  
  
  
  
As they moved along, Dawn gazed out the window at the castle she'd first seen five years ago. She remembered her feelings when she first laid eyes upon it. She was excited about going to a school of magic and amazed when she saw it.  
  
  
  
  
  
Since then, there hadn't been a single day in her life that wasn't packed full of surprises and adventure.  
  
  
  
  
  
She smiled to herself as the carriages pulled up and they jumped out, ready to start another year.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Joyce Summers went to the door and opened it. Rupert Giles rushed in, saying a quick "Hello" to Joyce on the way past to the living room.  
  
  
  
  
  
He took a seat in one of the chairs situated next to the couch. Everyone turned their attention to Buffy.  
  
  
  
  
  
She started explaining her story about how she'd found the monk, severely injured, near an old factory in one of the parts of Sunnydale.  
  
  
  
  
  
She got to explain what he'd told her about the Key being in human form, and mentioned it being at Hogwarts, when two small gasps came from two people in the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow's eyes were on Tara and Giles, who were both sitting beside her on the couch, the others soon realised that it'd originated from them.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Tara, Giles, have you heard of Hogwarts before?" Buffy quizzed with surprise.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara sat forward. "Yeah, I have."  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles stood up and tried to explain. "It's a school for Witchcraft and Wizardry, located in Scotland."  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander frowned. "So there's school where they teach magic and whatnot?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yes," Tara added with a nod, everyone staring at her with interest. "Before I came to Sunnydale, I had lived in England for a little while. That's when I got my letter, accepting me into the school. I went there for seven years."  
  
  
  
  
  
"I also went there many years ago. It is one of the best schools of its type in Europe." Giles explained his connection to the school.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why didn't you tell me that before?" Willow directed at Tara, a little hurt.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Things aren't ex-exactly great in the Wizarding World. There is a 'Big Bad' there too, called V-, well that's why I moved back here, to get away from it all." She explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Anyway," Buffy continued. "He also said that they had to disguise the Key because a god called Glory was after it."  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles walked over to the small collection of books that they kept at the Summers' residence, and scanned the shelves.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'll see what I can find out about the Key," He said turning to look at the rest of the group. "We also need to find out more about Glory."  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander, Tara and Anya hit the books, looking through volume and volume for any mention of Glory. In the meantime, Willow and Buffy helped Giles with the research.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
That night, Willow and Tara had returned to their dormitory on the UC Sunnydale Campus.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow was out in the bathroom brushing her teeth and Tara was pulling down the doona, ready to hop into the bed.  
  
  
  
  
  
She sighed to herself, since she'd revealed a big piece that she'd kept from the Gang; she'd noticed Willow was acting odd. She assumed that Willow was just taking time to digest the information she had revealed.  
  
  
  
  
  
She wandered over to the window, about to close it shut, when she saw something that she hadn't seen in a long time. An owl carrying a piece of parchment flew in the window and gently landed on the bed.  
  
  
  
  
  
The large barn owl hooted and stuck out its leg. Tara rushed over and pulled off the parchment.  
  
  
  
  
  
It read:  
  
  
  
HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY  
  
Headmaster: Albus Dumbledore  
  
(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc.,Chf. Warlock,)  
  
Supreme Mugwump. International Confed. of Wizards)  
  
Dear Miss McClay,  
  
You are being offered a teaching position at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. There has been some trouble to fill the position of Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, so your reply is being eagerly awaited.   
  
Yours Sincerely,  
  
Albus Dumbledore  
  
Headmaster  
  
  
  
  
  
She stared at it with shock for a few moments before the door opened, and Willow appeared in the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Tara, honey, what's wrong?" She asked with concern, noticing the owl flying around the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow read the letter and mixed emotions appeared on her face, Tara wasn't sure how Willow was feeling.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sh-Should I say yes?" Tara asked confused on what to do. "It is an opportunity to g-go to Hogwarts and find the Key."  
  
  
  
  
  
"What do you want to do?" Willow asked as they sat down on the bed with the parchment in hand.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'd love to go back to Hogwarts, and Defence Against the Dark Arts was one of my favourite subjects." She smiled, walking over to her dresser and pulling out one of her old pieces of parchment and a quill.  
  
  
  
I'd love to come back and teach Defence Against the Dark Arts, I'll be arriving within the next few days. - Tara McClay.  
  
  
  
  
  
She'd finished scribbling her response and sent the owl off with her message. She smiled excitedly, she had many people that she hadn't spoken to in a few years and this was a perfect opportunity to see everyone.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, let's go tell the gang." Willow suggested, picking up her jacket.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Before they knew it, the Scooby Gang had boarded a plane from Sunnydale Airport directly to England.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, what are we going to do when we get there?" Buffy turned to look at Giles who was seated beside her. "We can't just wander up to the school and look inconspicuous."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Dumbledore is a great man, we'll talk to him immediately when we get there." Giles, who'd got offered the job of co-teaching with Tara, explained. "My main concern is how much Glory knows, the school and Wizarding World could be in danger."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah," Buffy nodded in agreement, holding her armrest nervously. "I'm worried about that too."  
  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, in the seats in front of Buffy and Giles, Tara and Anya sat next to each other. Anya was looking curiously out the window and around the plane.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I haven't seen a plane before," Anya explained. "Except on those movies where people like to have sex in the small toilets on the plane."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara nodded her head and tried to smile, noticing that Anya had gotten a few looks from a few people nearby.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Xander and I might have to tr-," Anya began.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh, Ahn," Xander interrupted, turning around from the seat in front. "People don't really like hearing those sorts of things."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara tried to turn her attention back to the in-flight movie on the screen hovering above the seats, but she couldn't stop thinking about returning to Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
  
  
It had been several years and she'd lost track of things that had happened the last year or two, but Giles and her had filled in the blanks for the rest of the Scoobies. Telling them all about Voldemort, the Boy Who Lived and their experiences at the place they'd called home for seven years of their lives.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara had gone through boxes full of her old Hogwarts stuff before they'd left Sunnydale. Recently, she'd added her wand to one of those boxes. Once she'd met Willow, she became aware of Wandless Magic and what one could be capable of.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Well yay! That's another chapter done! You've obviously noticed that the time frames of the two places are different considering that the HP Gang and Dawn are at school and the Scooby Gang should already be there for the Sorting and the Feast. So anyway, the next chapter is set on the Scoobies getting to Hogwarts, and talking with Dumbledore.   
  
Anyway, if you haven't reviewed, please do so! Thanks :) - Akalea 


	3. Introductions

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Thanks to all those people who reviewed my first two Chapters, I appreciate it so much, so thank you again.  
  
Selene - Thank you for reviewing. That's why I'm I excited about this story, because I thought it was pretty original. :)  
  
X-Lander - Thanks for your comments, I really don't know how I came up with those ideas, but when I did I liked them too.  
  
Interested - Whoa, that's the longest review I've ever had. Hehe, actually I think lightening might have struck me. :) Well, I'm still working on the Scoobies getting to Hogwarts, so you're questions about Dawn won't be answered just yet. But as for you questions about Tara, most of them are answered in this chapter. Also, thanks for bring up those questions because it made me aware of things I hadn't covered.  
  
pay-day1999 & fairysk8r - Thank you both for reviewing, I hope you enjoy this Chapter. :)  
  
  
  
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Chapter 2 - Introductions  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy, Giles, Tara, Willow, Xander and Anya all arrived in England after a rather long flight. Even though they were suffering from jet lag, they immediately headed for Kings Cross Station, where a special, small train had been organised by Dumbledore, to transport them to Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
  
  
Most of them rested on the long train journey there, exhausted beyond words. Tara and Giles, however, were too excited to see the castle again, to get some rest. Instead, they sat up talking about the school.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What house were you in?" Tara questioned excitedly.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I was in Gryffindor, but a bit rebellious, I must say." Giles answered with a small laugh.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara smiled. "I was in H-Hufflepuff, except I just kept to myself. Made a few friends though, one in Gryffindor. I can't wait to get back there."  
  
  
  
  
  
"It'll bring back a lot of memories." Giles said, cleaning his glasses. "We'll be first going to speak to Dumbledore, such a wise man, haven't seen him since I was at Hogwarts."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Those m-monks were smart to send the key to be protected by him, t-there probably isn't a better or safer place." Tara pointed out.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, we better get some rest before we arrive." Giles suggested and Tara nodded in agreement.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara turned in her chair and rested her head against the back of the seat and closed her eyes. She soon fell into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
It wasn't long before she was being shaken awake by Willow. She opened her eyes to see her standing over her smiling.  
  
  
  
  
  
"We're here!" Willow cheered.  
  
  
  
  
  
Everyone was chatting excitedly as they gathered up their belongings from the luggage racks above their heads.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Scooby Gang soon stepped off the train and onto the station platform. It was nighttime and there was a cool breeze blowing strongly.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Professor Dumbledore." Giles greeted as he noticed the aged Headmaster of Hogwarts standing on the platform to greet the group.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Please call me Albus," He insisted, shaking Giles' hand. "It has been a long time, Rupert."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara also stepped forward shyly to greet him.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Miss McClay," Dumbledore greeted with a smile. "Welcome back to Hogwarts, I hope you are well."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara smiled back. "T-thank you, it is g-great to be back."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore turned to look at everyone else. "For those of you who don't know me, I am Albus Dumbledore - Headmaster of Hogwarts."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hi, I'm Buffy." The Slayer introduced herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ah, yes. You're the current Slayer, are you not, Miss Summers?" He inquired.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy smiled and nodded. It took her a moment to notice that she'd not told her last name to Dumbledore, but she just shrugged it off.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore turned to face the red head in the group. "You must be Miss Rosenburg. I've heard that you study some wandless magic, I'd be very interested in hearing about that some time."  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow just smiled and nodded in response, a little thrown off by his knowledge of them, just like Buffy had been a touch.  
  
  
  
  
  
He looked at the couple standing together on the platform. "And finally, you must be Mr. Harris and Miss. Jenkins, it's a pleasure to meet you."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Well now that the introductions and pleasantries are out of the way, we have some serious matters to discuss. If you'll all follow me up to my office, we can discuss them there."  
  
  
  
  
  
The group followed Dumbledore into a horseless (A.N - couldn't be bothered putting in the Thestrals.) carriage and were transported to the front entrance of the castle.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Whoa, would you look at that!" Xander exclaimed as he, Buffy, Willow and Anya gazed up at the castle in amazement.  
  
  
  
  
  
Everyone shuffled in through the large doors at the front of the castle and into the Entrance Hall, where the Deputy Headmistress greeted them.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's lovely to see you again, Professor." Giles greeted Professor McGonagall who'd only been a young Transfiguration teacher and newly appointed Deputy Headmistress when he went there.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara smiled at her as way of greeting; it had been a few years since she'd seen McGonagall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"This is Minerva McGonagall, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts." Dumbledore introduced.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow, Xander, Buffy and Anya all acknowledged McGonagall and then continued to follow Dumbledore to his office.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Once the group got past the Gargoyle guarding the entrance to Dumbledore's office, they followed him into his large and busy-looking office.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Please all take a seat." He offered, and they all found their way into a chair.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now, I understand that there is an important reason as to why you came here, besides to teach." He started, briefly gazing at Tara and Giles.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy sat up straight in her chair. "Well, I guess the story starts with me. I found this monk guy who told me that there was this 'key' and a god called Glory was after it..."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy continued to explain the situation and how they should find out who the Key is before Glory did.  
  
  
  
  
  
After Buffy had explained everything, Dumbledore did something that he rarely did; he frowned slightly. "The people who created the Key must have been very powerful and clever because even I cannot tell you who the Key is."  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles and Tara seemed somewhat shocked at this; they knew how knowledgeable he was. Apparently finding the Key wasn't going to be as easy as they thought if Dumbledore had no idea.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well there must be some other way of knowing?" Willow spoke up.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It'll take some time to find out," He pointed out. "So in the meantime, we must take our moves carefully, try not to draw attention to Hogwarts."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Won't a large group of strangers, suddenly showing up, do exactly that?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore nodded slowly. "That is why I shall find some jobs around the school for yourself, Mr Harris, Miss Jenkins and Miss Summers."  
  
  
  
  
  
There were surprised and curious looks around the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Miss Rosenburg, you have experience with wandless magic which would be interesting for the students to see and perhaps even learn if they're in danger without their wands. Miss Summers, you have amazing experience in self defence, which would also be very valuable for the students to know in danger situations. Therefore, a new class for this year, purely for older students to choose, shall be started called Wandless Defence."  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow beamed with happiness and Buffy couldn't contain her excitement.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore continued. "Now, Mr Harris and Miss Jenkins since you both don't have any magical backgrounds, it'll be harder to place you. However, there are a few classes where you could help out, even with little expertise. Miss Jenkins could assist Hagrid, who teaches Care of Magical Creatures class, without much trouble. Mr Harris, could help our Muggle Studies teacher, especially since you have first-hand experience."  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander and Anya smiled cheerfully, they understood what their jobs would involve as Giles and Tara had told them about all the classes the students at Hogwarts could take.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore rose up from behind his desk. "Now, you will all be shown to the rooms you will be staying in, and will also have a chance to explore the school and catch up with the other teachers that you'll be working with before the feast tonight. Also, I hope your search for the Key goes well, please feel free to use the library's resources to assist you, if you need it."  
  
  
  
  
  
Everyone got up from their chairs and thanked Dumbledore before following McGonagall who wass to show them to their rooms  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"I wonder who's going to be the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher now," Dawn wondered as she took a seat, next to Harry, at the Gryffindor table. "I mean, look at all the new people at the teachers' table."  
  
  
  
  
  
Ron frowned as her looked over at the newcomers. "That witch sitting next to Snape, the one with the blondish hair, looks familiar."  
  
  
  
  
  
The other three turned their glances to the nervous-looking witch at the teachers' table. "Where would you have seen her before?" Hermione whispered.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ron shrugged and they all talked quietly also watching the Sorting of the first years. Once that was over, everyone awaited Dumbledore's speech.  
  
  
  
  
  
Surely, soon enough Dumbledore stood up and the whole hall went silent upon noticing this.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Welcome to another year at Hogwarts. This year there are a lot of new faces on the teaching staff. Professor Rupert Giles and Professor Tara McClay will both be teaching Defence Against the Dark Arts," He said, pointing towards them as he spoke. "Also we have two people who'll be assisting teachers, Miss Anya Jenkins will assisting Hagrid with Care of Magical Creatures, while Mr Xander Harris will be assisting with the Muggle Studies class."  
  
  
  
  
  
Students whispered quietly, chatting about the newcomers. Dumbledore waited until the chattering died down again.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now, there will also be a new class available this year for fourth years and up. It is called Wandless Defence and Professor's Buffy Summers and Willow Rosenburg will be teaching how to defend yourselves without the use of your wands. Now, the usual announcements: The Forbidden Forest is strictly forbidden and classes will start tomorrow morning, as usual. Now, let us eat." Dumbledore finished, clapping his hands together.  
  
  
  
  
  
Plates and dishes of food lined the five tables and the students began to talk eagerly as they piled up their plates.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione had reluctantly taken food and placed it on her plate. She was still annoyed about the house elves, but during the holidays, Dawn had talked to her and convinced her to give up the SPEW nonsense.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Gave up on the House elves finally, did you, Hermione?" Ron teased as she scooped up mashed potato with her fork.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn laughed. "I don't know how I did it, but I convinced her to."  
  
  
  
  
  
That was one of the differences between her and her sister. Dawn saw the logical side, while Hermione disagreed. There were numerous differences between the twins.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn wasn't as fanatical and fastidious with reading or schoolwork, she enjoyed Quidditch and getting into trouble. She had more in common with the two boys, which sometimes made Hermione a touch jealous of her sister.  
  
  
  
  
  
They finished eating and left the Great Hall. Hermione and Ron had to lead the new first years up to the Gryffindor tower, as they were prefects this year.  
  
  
  
  
  
So instead, Harry and Dawn walked up to the tower with a few other Gryffindor fifth years.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you going to do that new class this year?" Harry questioned her as they walked along.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I think so, it sounds cool. Are you?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I think so too."  
  
  
  
  
  
When they entered through the Portrait Hole, saying the new password (Canary Creams), they found a notice on the Gryffindor notice board concerning whether they wanted to sign up for the Wandless Defence class.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn checked the list, Hermione and Ron had already signed up, so she pulled out a quill and signed her name, and Harry did the same.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, night." Harry said, making his way to the stairs leading to the boys' dormitories.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn smiled. "Night."  
  
  
  
  
  
She made her way up to her dorm and quickly settled into her bed, soon drifting off to sleep. It was going to be an interesting year.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Yay, well there's another chapter. I just realised how carried away I got when writing this, but that's a good thing. :) Please Review. - Akalea 


	4. Leads and Classes

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Okay, here's another chapter for your reading pleasure. :) Thank you so much to those people who reviewed the last chapter, I appreciate it.  
  
Wild320 - Thanks for reviewing, and I do hope to pair Buffy up with someone, just haven't had any ideas yet.  
  
Pay-day1999 - You'll have to wait a bit longer for Buffy and Willow's class, I got so carried away that it won't be until next chapter. Hehe :)  
  
Slyslayer13, Evil Willow - Thank you both for reviewing, I hope you enjoy this chapter.  
  
JV - Thanks for the suggestion, but I've been going through people to pair Buffy with and I though of that but I thought it'd be a bit gross 'coz Buffy is only 20 in this story. But I'm welcome to other suggestions. :)  
  
Well anyway, I feel like there was something else I was supposed to say. Oh yeah, I changed my mind about the Willow/Tara thing, and so I'm kinda attempting to split them up and it's hard to invent ideas because this is only Season 5 Buffy. Oh well. Enjoy the chapter. :)  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 3 - Leads and Classes  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn was awoken the next morning, by her sister who was standing over her bed. She immediately sat up, used to the same tradition. Hermione was always getting up early, for Dawn it was more of a struggle. So, her sister had taken the liberty to shake her awake every morning, sometimes having to result to doing it violently.  
  
  
  
  
  
It was one of those mornings. Dawn rubbed her right arms, attempting to ease the pain.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ouch, do you have to shake me awake so hard?" Dawn whinged as a yawn threatened to come out her mouth.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well you don't wake otherwise. Like that time when I even had to pour a glass of water over you." Hermione sniggered as she vacated the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn emerged in the common room a good half an hour later, still yawning her head off. She settled next to Hermione on the couch by the fireplace, Harry and Ron were already sitting in the big armchairs.  
  
  
  
  
  
"'Morning." Harry greeted her brightly.  
  
  
  
  
  
She muttered a "morning" in return; she was definitely not a morning person. The others were used to it and ignored her sour mood.  
  
  
  
  
  
As Hermione, Ron and Harry chatted away ardently, Dawn's blue eyes fell upon 'The Daily Prophet' sitting on the table.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Whoever's this is, can I read it?" She asked, picking it up.  
  
  
  
  
  
Ron nodded in response and Dawn began reading. She flicked it open to the second and read the headline 'Insanity attacks Britain'. Interested, she read on:  
  
  
  
  
  
In the past week, there have been a huge number of cases from Witches or Wizards, reporting that they have 'gone insane'. As the numbers increase in the wards of St. Mungos, it is still unclear as to what the exact cause is.  
  
  
  
  
  
She stopped reading and frowned. Why was she so drawn to this article? She felt interested and somehow connected to it.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's wrong, Dawn?" Hermione said from beside her, snapping her out of her reverie.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't know," Dawn began as they all leaned over her shoulder to read. "This article..."   
  
  
  
  
  
She couldn't finish her sentence because she couldn't explain what she was thinking and why she was drawn to that article.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn was not the only one, Giles was reading it closely as he and Buffy strolled along one of the many corridors.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's up?" Buffy asked, noticing Giles' look of concentration.  
  
  
  
  
  
"...There have been a huge number of cases from Witches or Wizards, reporting that they have 'gone insane'." Giles read out loud and then looked up. "And this has been in the past week."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy's eyes widened as a thought hit her. "Hmm, so something strange goes on in Britain and it's only been in the past week. Could this be about Glory? Because from what the monk told me, that's about when Glory found out info which lead her to England."  
  
  
  
  
  
"We shouldn't jump to conclusions," Giles cautioned. "But, yes, it could very well be Glory."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, I can't just sit around and do nothing. I know I've got a class, but Willow will still be there. I need to go and find out more about Glory." Buffy said impatiently, she wasn't one to sit and wait.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow approached them from behind. "Hey guys, what's going on?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy took 'The Daily Prophet' off Giles and thrust it into Willow's hands. "We think it might have something to do with Glory, considering it started about the same time I found the monk."  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, are you going to find out?" Willow questioned, referring to what she'd overheard Buffy saying before.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy nodded. "I know it's our first class but-,"  
  
  
  
  
  
"That's okay, I think I can handle it for today." Willow cut Buffy off.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy took the paper off Willow and looked at Giles. "Can I borrow this? It'll be useful." She stated.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, and I'll tell Professor Dumbledore our suspicions." Giles said finally.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy then walked off briskly, and disappeared around the corner. Giles started to head for the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Coming to breakfast?" He asked Willow when he noticed that she'd not moved to follow him.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow shook her head. "I've got to do something first."  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles walked off in the opposite direction, leaving Willow alone with her thoughts. She was still rather upset about finding out that Tara went to Hogwarts and all that she'd kept from her, even though she'd tried to hide it.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Seven years, that's a big part of her life that she kept from me!" She thought to herself as she walked along. "And how come I've never seen her wand or seen her use it?"  
  
  
  
  
  
She rounded the corner and walked into the very person that she'd been thinking about.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Willow!" Tara called out with surprise, as Willow appeared from around the corner.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow couldn't seem to smile because she was still confused and upset. "Tara, we should talk."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara seemed slightly confused as Willow motioned for them to start walking outside in the Hogwarts grounds.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Tara..." She began, not quite knowing what to say.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's a-about this, isn't it?" Tara assumed motioning her arms at Hogwarts; she seemed to understand what Willow was thinking. "I can tell that you're still upset about me keeping this from you, you barely talked to me the whole trip here and you've been avoiding me."  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow raised her voice slightly. "Why'd you keep all this from me?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I wanted to move on because I knew things were going to turn bad here, so I moved back to America to lay low for a while. Then I gradually stopped using my wand and got into wandless magic." Tara explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You still could have told me anyway!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara groaned with frustration. "Well I chose not to, it wasn't really apart of me anymore until now. I guess I can't get you to understand. I'm going to breakfast."  
  
  
  
  
  
She then walked off, not caring if Willow had anything more to say. Willow was left standing there for a few moments before she went back into the castle.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Ooh, double Defence Against the Dark Arts this morning!" Dawn exclaimed, reading off her new timetable as she sat eating breakfast in the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I still don't know why that Professor is so familiar." Ron stated, glancing over at the teachers' table.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You've probably just seen her around somewhere before, like in Diagon Alley." Hermione rationalised briefly looking up from her timetable.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's going on, dear brother?" Fred said, appearing behind them.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah, is something wrong with ickle Ronnikins?" George asked, jumping in the seat beside Ron and draping his arm on his shoulder.  
  
  
  
  
  
"We were just talking about the new teachers." Dawn explained, glancing over at the teachers' table.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, it's going to be a smashing year!" Fred pointed out. "Have you seen all the new female Professors, if you catch my drift?"  
  
  
  
  
  
The other three boys nodded in agreement.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn and Hermione shook their heads and whacked them on the arm. "Typical guys!"   
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey, isn't one of the new teachers for Wandless Defence missing?" Harry pointed out as he studied the teachers' table.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn nodded, noticing it too. "When do we have that?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Not 'til this afternoon."  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione began collecting the books that were scattered on the table in front of her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Where are you going?" Ron asked.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's almost time for class, we better go." She advised.  
  
  
  
  
  
They all rose from the table and collected all their stuff before leaving the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
Shortly later, they entered the classroom and found desks to sit at, dropping their bags on the ground.  
  
  
  
  
  
The two new Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers stood at the front of the room, waiting for silence so that they could begin the first class for the year.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Welcome fifth years," Giles saluted to the fifth year Gryffindor and Slytherin's. "I'm Professor Giles."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara stepped forward. "I'm P-Professor Maclay." She said in a nervous and fragile voice.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn looked over at a few Slytherin's who found this funny, Malfoy among them.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Naturally," Dawn thought to herself. "They don't give anyone a chance."  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles started to describe what they were going to start working on first: dark creatures such as demons and vampires, which both he and Tara had first had knowledge and experience on due to living on the hellmouth.  
  
  
  
  
  
"O-okay, now will find out what you know. What can you tell me about vampires?" Tara began to get more confident the longer she spoke.  
  
  
  
  
  
A few hands went up and most of the people came up with the typical incorrect stereotypes, as such coffins and garlic, and there were several mentions of Dracula.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione, whose hand had been up since the question was asked, finally got a chance to share her knowledge. "Vampires are 'creatures of the night', they can't go in sunlight. The ways of killing a vampire are to decapitate it or to stake it through the heart with a wooden object."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well done, Miss..." Giles trailed off, waiting for her to fill in the gap.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Granger."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well done, Miss Granger. 10 points to Gryffindor." Giles rewarded.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara went of talking about what Hermione had mentioned, but in great detail. In the meantime, Dawn leaned over to her sister.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You read too much!" She joked in a murmur.  
  
  
  
  
  
They were then told to write down, in depth, what Tara had just said to keep as notes for later on. While they were doing this, Tara and Giles wandered around the room, attempting to learn all the students' names.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara approached the two tables where Dawn, Hermione, Ron and Harry were seated.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm trying to learn everyone's names." She explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, well I'm Dawn Granger, this is my sister Hermione, and those two are Harry Potter and Ron Weasley." Dawn spoke up, pointing to each person as she went along.  
  
  
  
  
  
Instead of the usual fuss over Harry, even though Tara was well aware of the story, she turned to Ron with surprise.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Weasley?" She questioned and Ron nodded in response. "I came here when your brother, Charlie, was here. I was fairly good friends with him." She clarified with a smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
She continued walking around the room as they persisted in working on their notes again for the rest of class.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wow, so Professor Maclay knew your brother?" Hermione questioned as they exited the classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It looks like it," Ron answered. "That's why I though she was familiar, I must have seen her talking to Charlie sometime when I went with mum to the station too see him and Bill off."  
  
  
  
  
  
"She seems pretty introverted," Harry observed. "And did you see the Slytherin's laughing?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah, they're so arrogant and just total dickheads." Dawn cussed as they headed to their next class.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione told Dawn off about her language and then picked up her pace. "We've got to hurry up to our next class."   
  
* * *  
  
A.N - Well another chapter, don't forget to review *wink wink* :) - Akalea 


	5. Revelations

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Okay, I've been really busy and had a little more trouble getting this chapter right. Please excuse the first be if it seems unbelievable, it was the only thing I could think of to get Buffy to have a first confrontation with Glory. Also, don't pick on me, because I don't live in England and therefore don't know many of its towns AND I don't know Latin either, so I've just used an online dictionary to find words to use for the spells which don't already exist. Now for the reviews!  
  
fairysk8r - Thanks for reviewing again! I'm really glad you like it, please continue to review if you can. :)  
  
Interested - That's okay! I'm glad you reviewed the last one though. Hehe, I thought I might include Hermione telling Dawn off 'cause she always does that to Ron when he swears. Anyway, thanks for reviewing. :)  
  
Anyway guys, now on with the Chapter!  
  
  
  
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Chapter 4 - Revelations  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy re-checked the article, to see if she was at the right place.  
  
  
  
  
  
'The last reported cases of this mysterious mental illness have been centred around a town just outside London, Harlow.'  
  
  
  
  
  
"Where to start?" She thought to herself as she began walking down the street.  
  
  
  
  
  
The street was lined with cars on both sides, and large trees, with their leaves beginning to turn a yellow colour. There wasn't much traffic or people walking about.  
  
  
  
  
  
She panned her head around slowly checking for anything out of the ordinary, as she turned into an isolated street. It wasn't really a street, more a dirt road surrounded by bushland.  
  
  
  
  
  
A rustle from the bushes, in the front yard of the house to her left that she'd only just noticed, caught her attention. She snapped her head to look in that direction. She walked into the yard, investigating.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hello?" She called out, as she took her steps with caution.  
  
  
  
  
  
Another noise from in front of her, made her jump into a ready stance, with her fists clenched tightly.  
  
  
  
  
  
A confused looking man emerged from the bushes, muttering to himself. "The crows will dive with crisp. He doesn't yawn great songs."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy frowned upon hearing the man's jumbled babble. "Are you okay?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"We time chairs to run red." He said, turning to look at her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy's eyes fell upon something sticking out of his pocket. "A wand! So this man's a wizard." She thought to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
He began to walk away, exiting the yard and heading down the street.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wait!" Buffy called out, but he continued walking.  
  
  
  
  
  
She knew she that should have gone after him, instead she walked up to the house to investigate. She crept quietly down the side of the house and to the back.  
  
  
  
  
  
She crouched down and peered into the window, not wanting to just burst into the house. The first thing that grabbed her attention were some ugly looking demon-type creatures wearing brown type robes, similar to the ones of the monk that died, in Sunnydale.  
  
  
  
  
  
The next odd thing was a normal looking woman, in a red dress and shoes with curly blond hair. She was talking, or as it appeared to be, ordering the demonic creatures around.  
  
  
  
  
  
Lastly, her eyes fell upon witch tied up in a chair and gagged. The blond-haired woman wandered over to the witch and stuck her hands at the temples of the witch.  
  
  
  
  
  
The screams from the witch convinced Buffy to make her presence known; she crashed through the window and into the room. She threw some hard punches and swift kicks at the demons in the room, knocking them unconscious.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now why'd you have to do that?" The woman said, turning her attention to Buffy and smiled evilly. "Oh, you must be the Slayer! I knew you'd stick your little nose in sometime."  
  
  
  
  
  
"That's right," Buffy answered not relaxing her stance. "And let me take a stab, you're Glory."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy smiled defiantly before jumping across the room and throwing some punches at Glory.  
  
  
  
  
  
She got concerned when her efforts had very little affect. Glory promptly raised her arm and clasped her hand around Buffy's neck.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm not just Glory," She clarified as she raised Buffy up off the floor with very little effort. "I'm a god."  
  
  
  
  
  
With one swift, simple movement Glory hurled Buffy across the room. She hit the wall with such a force that it cracked and crumbled apart.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now, do you know where my Key is?" Glory questioned as she advanced on Buffy.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy coughed from the plaster dust in the air and glared at Glory.  
  
  
  
  
  
When Buffy didn't answer, Glory approached her again. "Well if you don't know, then I can just kill you and you'll stop annoying me."  
  
  
  
  
  
Before Buffy had known it, Glory had seized Buffy around the neck again with one hand. The other hand rested on her head.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You can't risk killing me," Buffy choked out. "What if I told you I knew where the Key is, you'll be killing your only hope to finding it."  
  
  
  
  
  
Luckily for Buffy, Glory released her grip and let Buffy fall to the ground with a thud. She'd managed to save her neck from being snapped in two.  
  
  
  
Buffy rose up again to stand in front of her, wincing slightly from the pain that shot through her body as she did so.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So tell me where the Key is, so I can be on my way." Glory pleaded. "I need to get home! Don't you understand that?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Go to hell." Buffy simply replied as she went for another round of punches and kicks aimed at Glory, making sure Glory didn't have a clear shot to grab her around the neck again.  
  
  
  
  
  
This time it had some affect, but not enough. Buffy found her being flung across the room once again.  
  
  
  
  
  
There was a victorious laugh from across the room. Buffy lifted her head back up to see Glory looking at something with interest, which was sitting on a table in the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
She lifted up a paper that Buffy recognised as the Daily Prophet. "Aha!" Glory called out as she read off the paper.  
  
  
  
  
  
'...Besides the new Defence Against the Dark Arts teachers, Hogwarts is also blessed with Professor's Willow Rosenburg and Buffy Summers, who'll be taking a new class, Wandless Defence.'  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy slowly crawled across the floor as Glory spoke, trying not to draw attention to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, you're at Hogwarts and you know where my Key is! That's where my Key is isn't it?" Glory figured out.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy jumped up to her feet, deciding it was time for her to make her graceful exit. Catching Glory by surprise, Buffy knocked her over and ran past to the door.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Hi everyone!" Willow sung excitedly as fifth year students filled into the classroom that had been assigned for Wandless Defence classes.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Professor Summers isn't able to make it for this class, so we'll be working on summoning your wands. Please, pair off and I'll come around and help you try and summon your wands, which your partners will be holding." Willow continued.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Partners?" Dawn heard Harry ask from beside her.  
  
  
  
  
  
She nodded and they waited for Willow to come and instruct them on what to do.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay now," Willow began as she wandered over to them and a couple of groups gathered around her. "Now, stand about 5 metres apart, for now. And concentrate hard, pointing at the object you wish to summon and simply say 'advoco'."  
  
  
  
  
  
The wand in Ron's hand came flying out of his grasp and into Willow's waiting hands. The spectators gasped with surprise and excitement.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It may take a while, but don't give up! Now, see if you can do it." Willow urged with a smile as she gave Ron his wand back.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn and Harry switched wands and stood back, as did the other people who'd already been instructed.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay, this probably isn't going to work, but let's try it." Dawn said.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Three, two, one." Harry counted down.  
  
  
  
  
  
Simultaneously they stuck out their arms and pointed at the wands that they were both holding.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Advoco!" They cried out at the same time.  
  
  
  
  
  
Much to their surprise, and to the people around them, who'd attempted the spell numerous times already and were unsuccessful, the wands flew out of their hands and switched so that Dawn and Harry were both holding the right wands.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wow! Well done!" Willow called out with astonishment as she looked over from the other side of the classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn's eyes were wide with surprise as she looked down at her wand. "How come I never noticed this power before?" She thought to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
Of course everyone was not surprised at Harry's successful attempt, he had a knack for that sort of thing, but Dawn's success was a shock.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn peered over at her sister, with a look of a mixture of shock and satisfaction. Hermione smiled at her proudly, but Dawn could also see something else behind her smile, possibly jealously.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn shook the thought of as someone dashed into the classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Buffy!" Willow cried out as she walked over to the blonde slayer to talk more in private. "You're back, what'd you find out?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"A lot, but we shouldn't talk about it here." She answered quietly, gazing at the students who were watching them with curiosity.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I trust what you found confirmed your suspicions." Willow stated, noticing Buffy's cuts and bruises.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy nodded. "Looks like you've got this class covered, thanks. I'll meet you and the rest of the Scooby Gang in the staffroom later to tell you what I found out."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay." Willow answered simply, returning to assisting a pair of Hufflepuff's that were having some difficulties.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I wonder what that was about?" Ron asked from nearby, where he stood with Hermione, Ron, Neville, Harry and Dawn.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Probably something to do with the fact that Professor Summers didn't even make it to this class." Dawn suggested.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, but did you see the bruises and cuts on Professor Summers." Hermione pointed out. "I wonder what's going on."  
  
  
  
  
  
They shrugged the incident off and continued working.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Willow returned to her desk after the class had exited the classroom. She organised all the books that were sprawled across the desk.  
  
  
  
  
  
She was startled by a shadow in the doorway of the classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Willow?" Tara called out, looking around the room until her eyes fell on Willow.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh, I have to go and talk to Buffy in the staff room." She made up as an excuse; she didn't particularly feel like talking to Tara since their fight.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara stamped her foot in anger. "Can you stop avoiding me and at least try to forgive me?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I just need some time, I'm so sick of fighting!" Willow explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara sighed; she couldn't understand Willow's reaction. Of course she had a right to be annoyed but it had been a few days and she expected Willow to have calmed down a bit by now.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Let me make it easy for you," Tara suggested. "I will give you some time and space, indefinitely."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Yay! Finally! This one has taken me forever because I've been so busy and I've had to stop and think about a few things. Oh and, don't mind me, I'm fiddling around with the format so I've returned to the old way from what I did last chapter. Once you've stop reading this banter, PLEASE REVIEW! Thanks - Akalea 


	6. Dreams

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: I'm sorry, it's been really hectic lately and I have no time. But thanks to all those people who read and reviewed the last chapter:  
  
Interested - You've thought about this chapter a lot. Hehe. My intention was that Glory figures out that the Key is at Hogwarts but doesn't know it's in human form yet. And yeah, I can see your point though, and about the realisation that Buffy was the Slayer. Truth is, I rushed through that part because it was annoying me and I wanted to get it done so I could move on. Thanks for reviewing. :)  
  
Also a big thanks to Wild320, fairysk8r and Dark Lulu.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Chapter 5 - Dreams  
  
  
  
  
  
"So instead of trying to find Glory to stop her from getting the key, you made her suspicious and led her closer to finding the key." Anya pointed out bluntly as they sat around the fireplace in the staff room.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy, after telling the Scoobies about the whole incident with Glory, made some non-committal noises as she gazed around at the expressions of the other Scoobies, seated on the surrounded couches.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Buffy didn't do it on purpose, she was just investigating the article in the Daily Prophet, and she was doing the right thing." Willow defended as she looked to Giles.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Nevertheless," Giles started, taking off his glasses. "Glory now believes that the Key is here, which is true. Although it is still looking for a needle in a haystack, she doesn't know the Key is in human form."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara sat forward, contributing to the conversation for the first time. "M-maybe we should tell Dumbledore now, he has a right to know that the school may be in d-danger."  
  
  
  
  
  
There were several nods of agreement and Giles stood up. "That is true, even though the school is well protected, we still don't know what Glory is capable of. I'll go and speak with the Headmaster now."  
  
  
  
  
  
Hitting his hands against his knees, Xander spoke up. "Well, I'm going to go back to my room before dinner." He stood up and began to walk away.  
  
  
  
  
  
Anya jumped up quickly. "I'll also go, uh, back to his room too." Anya said with that 'we're-going-have-sex' look on her face.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy rolled her eyes, slightly disgusted and saw that Willow was doing the same thing.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, how did the classes go today, without me?" Buffy quizzed.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow smiled. "It was great, I've never had so much fun, and I really enjoyed teaching them. I taught them how to retrieve their wands from someone else's hand. I was also thinking that we could alternate our teaching. One day, you teach them about fighting, the next day I teach them about wandless magic."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy nodded. "That sounds great." She said simply.  
  
  
  
  
  
The smile quickly disappeared from Willow's face and Buffy noticed this.  
  
  
  
  
  
"And..." Buffy said attempting to encourage Willow to talk.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow rubbed her face with her hand. "Well Tara came to speak to me after class, we'd had a fight earlier. The conversation didn't go well, in fact, things are worse now."  
  
  
  
  
  
"What'd you say?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow sighed. "I said I needed time because she kept a really big piece of her past from me and she got angry and said that she'll give me time - indefinitely."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy didn't really want to say anything - Tara and Willow were both friends.  
  
  
  
  
  
After a moment silence, Buffy interrupted. "You know what, there's only a few hours of daylight left, and I think I'll go for a walk and make the most of them."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Dawn stood out in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch, clutching her broom. She loved flying, and was hoping to fill the position as the new Keeper for the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. She was going to train every night, for the next week until the tryouts.  
  
  
  
  
  
She mounted her broom and soared off the ground, clutching her wand. Since she was training to be the Keeper, and was by herself, she had to bewitch the Quaffle to fly towards her.  
  
  
  
  
  
After half an hour, she was still having trouble just trying to get the Quaffle to fly at her like she wanted. She returned down to the ground, sighing with frustration.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Having trouble?" An amused voice from behind startled her and she jumped around, wand held out, to face the person.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Don't scare me like that!" She cried out, as she became face to face with Harry who was holding his broom.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sorry." He said with a laugh. "I couldn't resist, you were so busy concentrating on getting that Quaffle airborne."  
  
  
  
  
  
She frowned. "How long have you been watching me?"  
  
  
  
  
  
He smiled. "Enough to know that you're having a lot of trouble."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh well," She sighed miserably. "It's not like I was ever going to get on the team, anyway."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Don't be stupid!" Harry argued. "I've seen you fly, you'd make a great Keeper on the team. All you need is someone to help you train."  
  
  
  
  
  
Before she knew it, Harry had snatched up the Quaffle, and jumped on his broom. He zoomed off on his Firebolt so quickly, that Dawn was still left standing on the pitch by the time she'd figured out what he was doing.  
  
  
  
  
  
She too hopped on her broomstick and flew off towards the three goal hoops.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Buffy strolled the well-kept grounds of Hogwarts; since she'd arrived at the school she hadn't had the opportunity to admire the beauty of the grounds.  
  
  
  
  
  
Her eyes fell upon the large stadium, the main focal point of the entire grounds. Quidditch intrigued her, Tara had briefly explained it on the train ride to Hogwarts, but wasn't really a big fan of it.  
  
  
  
  
  
She slowly made her way across the grass green lawns, towards the Quidditch stadium. It didn't take her long to reach it, because she was already nearby when she noticed it.  
  
  
  
  
  
She decided upon going up into the stadium seating, to check out what it must be like to watch a Quidditch game. As she entered the stands, she noticed two figures flying around the stadium.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy watched in awe as one of the flyers used magnificent moves to block a ball, which was being hurtled towards the three rings by the other person.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wow," She thought to herself, amazed. "If just watching people practice looks amazing, imagine what a game would be like."  
  
  
  
  
  
Deciding not make herself noticed, one person in the middle of an empty stand would draw attention, Buffy walked out of the seating area and continued to watch from ground level.  
  
  
  
  
  
Suddenly looking down at her watch, Buffy suddenly became aware of the time - dinner in the Great Hall was in ten minutes. The two blurry dots zooming high up the sky became bigger as they headed for the Quidditch pitch.  
  
  
  
  
  
Before she knew it, they'd collected up their stuff and were walking quickly in her direction. They spotted her standing at the edge of the stadium.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hi, hope you didn't mind me watching," Buffy decided to start a conversation. "I've never seen flying before and that was amazing. I'm Buffy Summers, by the way."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hi, I'm Dawn Granger and that's Harry Potter." The brown-haired girl greeted, pointing to her company.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Harry Potter... why does that name sound familiar?" Buffy asked herself. "Must have had something to do with the stories Tara and Giles told us on the train."  
  
  
  
  
  
She shrugged off her thoughts and continued to talk, but also noticing that they looked like they were waiting for something to happen. "Are you guys in the Wandless Defence class?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah, we are." Harry replied. "We had our first class today."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, yeah." Buffy remembering that she saw them in the classroom when she went to talk to Willow, after her clash with Glory. "That was one of the classes I couldn't teach today... because I had some... family problems."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy mentally kicked herself for making her excuse sound very suspicious.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, dinner's in a few minutes and we have to get changed. It was nice talking to you, Professor." Dawn called out as they raced towards the castle.  
  
  
  
  
  
After Harry and Dawn's departure, Buffy moved her head to stare up at the darkening sky as she walked along slowly. She began wondering about the Key and how many possibilities there were on who could be it.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's probably a student, but it could be one of the teachers here!" She brainstormed. "It could be that sour-looking teacher in the staff room, for all I know, it could be one of those kids that I just met!"  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
She watched quietly as two men in brown robes talked seriously. They appeared to be having an argument over something, but she didn't understand what.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't know if this is good idea." One of the men spoke in another language she'd never heard; yet she could still understand every word that left his mouth.  
  
  
  
  
  
The other man stomped his foot. "We have to! Otherwise 'she' will find it and all hell will break loose."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are they referring to me?" She thought to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
They weren't looking in her direction, in fact they didn't even seem to notice or acknowledge her presence. She found this whole situation bizarre.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, you want to make it human and hide it somewhere?" The first, reluctant man spoke up again.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara opened her eyes and took a moment to take in her surroundings. She was in Hogwarts staff room sitting in one of the large armchairs.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I must have fallen asleep," She thought to herself as she jumped up, realising that it was dinnertime. "I wonder what that was I was dreaming about."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - *Exhales deeply* Yay, finally finished this chapter. I have been busy like you would not believe! Oh and in case you haven't already noticed, I've been messing around with the format again! Anyway, please review; I'd really love that. - Akalea 


	7. Trials and Tryouts

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Sorry about the wait everyone, I've been busy with school and then I went on holidays without access to a computer and now I'm sick. But the fact that I'm sick has given me an opportunity to write. :) Well anyway, now on with the reviews:  
  
Wild320 - Thanks :) As for Buffy being paired up, I'm working on it. I've just got to find out what'll work best for this story and it might take some time.  
  
Wllw979 - Thanks for reviewing. I considered the garlic thing and there wasn't really much about in Buffy, so I didn't really think that I'd mention it. Thanks for pointing that out though.  
  
  
  
Also thanks to Anne and BuffyFan7 for reviewing the last chapter. I look forward to reading reviews from everyone for this chapter.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Chapter 6 - Trials and Tryouts  
  
  
  
  
  
Before they'd all known it, another week at Hogwarts had zoomed past. The Scoobies took a little time adjusting to life at the school, but now things were starting to become second nature.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hi guys!" Buffy greeted as the last class for the day wandered into the classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
She waited for everyone to take their seats before she continued again.  
  
  
  
  
  
"We just been doing a lot of reading lately which sucks, I know. So I thought we get into learning some defensive moves, which will be really useful if you ever need to defend yourselves and you don't have your wand." She explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
Once Buffy had finished talking, Willow spoke up. "So, we'll need most of you to start moving the desks to the back of the room. Neville, Dean, Hannah and Dawn, could you please help Buffy with the floor mats."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy and Willow decided that their class would be a first-name basis class, they really disliked being called 'Professor' or calling students 'Miss' or 'Mister'. The students seemed to like it; it was something different from all their other classes.  
  
  
  
  
  
The room was soon set up and the class gathered around the large floor mat all around the outside.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Usually, you first want to know how to be able to block any attacks - because you're not going to get very far if you can throw some good punches and then you can't block any." Buffy pointed out logically.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy nodded at Willow, and she walked to stand opposite to Buffy. Everyone else stepped back, knowing they were about to do a demonstration.  
  
  
  
  
  
Out of nowhere, Willow lunged forward, throwing a punch at Buffy's head. It was gracefully blocked as Buffy twisted her arm up and connected her forearm with Willow's arm.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow retreated her arm and then continued to throw random punches at different areas of Buffy's body. The class watched in awe, it was almost as if Buffy already knew where Willow was going to punch, her reflexes were that fast.  
  
  
  
  
  
The demonstration ended and the two teacherrs turned to face their class.  
  
  
  
  
  
A blonde Hufflepuff girl stuck her hand up. "Excuse me, but how do you know all that?" Her question directed at Buffy.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy smiled. "I knew that question would come up at sometime. Willow and I will give you the short version for now because it will also be something that Giles and Tara will be teaching you soon."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Buffy is the Slayer." Willow explained and there was a bit of chatter from the class. "There is one girl in the world that is chosen to fight vampires and demons, and she is it."  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, I was trained by Giles, how to fight and that's how I know all these fighting skills." Buffy took over from Willow again. "I've been a slayer over five years, and in that time I've picked up certain moves on how to fight. Slayers have extra strength too, which is a bonus."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah," Willow nodded. "Just ask a slayer for a hand shake and you'll end up with one very bruised hand."  
  
  
  
  
  
The class just stood there in disbelief, it was a lot to take in and understand.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Anyway that's just the G-version of all of that." Buffy pointed out. "We really need to move on with class or we won't get everything done. So, please pair off on a mat in the room."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Have you guys ever heard of a Slayer before?" Ron asked as they left the Wandless Defence classroom.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn and Harry shook their heads. Hermione, on the other hand, didn't and instead nodded in response to Ron's question.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I actually read about it all in a book, over the summer. It was really fascinating." She explained. "When a girl is somewhere from fourteen to sixteen, she is 'called', meaning that a representative from the Watchers' Council, an organization that trains Slayers, is sent to be the girl's 'watcher'. Once she is trained, she set outs on fighting against evil, but once she dies, another girl is called. Nearly all Slayers don't even live past 20."  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry frowned. "But Buffy is definitely over 20 and she doesn't look dead to me." He pointed out.  
  
  
  
  
  
As they took a seat out on the grass outside, Dawn leaned in. "I heard from somewhere that she actually has died before, once she drowned but was revived," She said disbelieving. "I heard that walking in the hallway the other day."  
  
  
  
  
  
The other three looked skeptical as well, so Dawn just shrugged it off. They changed the topic and sat there enjoying the late afternoon sun.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh!" Hermione cried out suddenly. "Dawn, we got a letter from mum and dad earlier today, I almost forgot to pass it on to you."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn took the letter from her sister but only got as far as 'Dear Hermione and Dawn' because Harry interrupted.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Damn!" Harry cried, jumping up suddenly. "I was supposed to be at the Quidditch pitch fifteen minutes ago because the keeper tryouts are on this afternoon."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn suddenly remembered too, but stayed seated as Harry gave her a quick look and ran off towards the Gryffindor Tower. She had told him that she didn't want the others to know she was trying out in case she made a fool of herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione turned to look at her sister. "What was that look for?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh," Dawn said jumping up from the grass. "I was going to watch. Better get going, I'll read the letter later, Herm."  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione raised her brows at Dawn's retreating back. "Something is going on."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh yeah, maybe they're having a secret rendezvous." Ron joked, which earned a look of disapproval from Hermione.  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Tara sat at the teachers' table in the Great Hall, a book propped in her lap. As she sat there reading, she found her concentration wavering, her eyelids felt like lead and she tried to cover her fifth yawn in ten minutes.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You look beat." Xander appeared in the seat next to her, startling her. "What's the problem? You can tell 'understanding and insightful' Xander."  
  
  
  
  
  
She chuckled at his joke and attempted to hold back yet another yawn.  
  
  
  
  
  
Putting her book on the table, she sat forward. "It's just I've been h-having trouble sleeping. I've been having these really weird dreams."  
  
  
  
  
  
"What kind of dreams?"  
  
  
  
  
  
She shrugged slowly. "I don't know. It-it's just, in the dreams they feel real, a-as if it's something that has actually happened but I'm watching as a spectator. I-I know that sounds stupid, but..." She trailed off.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Of course not." Another voice joined the conversation.  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander and Tara jumped around to come face to face with Dumbledore.  
  
  
  
  
  
"P-Professor!" Tara said, jumping out of her seating.  
  
  
  
  
  
He chuckled. "You're not a student anymore, so I don't see any reason for you to call me 'Professor'. Please call me 'Albus'." He insisted, taking his seat at the table.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sorry...A-Albus." Tara apologised, quite unaccustomed to being on a first-name basis with the aging headmaster.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Please, don't let me interrupt," Dumbledore said. "From what I know, you were just telling Mr. Harris about your latest dreams."  
  
  
  
  
  
"D-do you think that these dreams could be real events? I s-studied Divination in my third year, and didn't believe a thing of it." Tara questioned, looking for Dumbledore's opinion.  
  
  
  
  
  
"It could be very possible that these dreams are real. What happens in the dreams, if you don't mind me asking." Dumbledore replied.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara successful fought another tired yawn. "Well, I-I actually think that I'm s-seeing the monks, before they made the Key human."  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander's eyes widened. "Does that mean, if they are actually real, that Tara could find out who the Key is?" He turned to look at Dumbledore.  
  
  
  
  
  
He nodded. "It is possible, but if the dreams did reveal the Key, there is no way of knowing if that is correct."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara frowned. "But why would I get these dreams? I was terrible at Divination, remember?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore chuckled. "There is another person in the castle who has only ever had two visions of the future, and isn't highly skilled in Divination, if you don't mind me saying." He whispered the second part.  
  
  
  
  
  
Noticing Xander had a look of confusion on his face, Dumbledore decided to bring him into the conversation.  
  
  
  
  
  
"How is everything working out with Muggle Studies, Mr Harris?" He questioned.  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander laughed. "Never in my life have I met anyone who didn't know what a TV was."  
  
  
  
  
  
"That is the box with pictures, if I'm not mistaken?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander and Tara laughed more, halfway through Tara held back another yawn, and Dumbledore chuckled and turned to face her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I think you need to catch up on some sleep before dinner," He said, putting his hand on her shoulder. "Otherwise, you may fall asleep in your dinner tonight."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Dawn nervously carried her broomstick along the deserted corridors, heading for her Keeper tryout. She turned another corner, picking up her pace.  
  
  
  
  
  
A snicker from the shadows of the corridors startled her. "You actually think that a stupid Mudblood like yourself is good enough to be on a House Quidditch Team!"  
  
  
  
  
  
She sighed and turned around, knowing exactly to expect standing there.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What, no Potter around to stand up for you?" Malfoy sneered.  
  
  
  
  
  
She whisked out her wand, pointing it directly at Malfoy's overly blonde head. "For your information, I can stand up for myself thanks." She retorted.  
  
  
  
  
  
He laughed. "Is this what you call 'standing up for yourself'?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I've had enough of your shit!" She yelled, motioning her wand in preparation for a spell.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn was relieved that her sister wasn't around to witness this, once again she would have been scolded for her profanity and Hermione would also usually say 'just ignore him'.  
  
  
  
  
  
Before she was able to her spell, Malfoy stiffened fell to the ground with a loud thump. Ginny Weasley appeared, standing behind her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn sighed with annoyance. "Well, he's definitely going think that I can't stand up for myself now and I won't hear the end of it." She thought to herself with irritation.  
  
  
  
  
  
Still, Dawn was thankful that Ginny had shut Malfoy up. "Thanks." Dawn smiled appreciatively.  
  
  
  
  
  
"No worries," Ginny responded, glancing at her broomstick. "But don't you have a Quidditch tryout to go to?"  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Another chapter for you guys to read. :) I hope it was worth the wait. Please continue to review; I really enjoy reading the feedback from everyone. - Akalea 


	8. The Moment of Truth

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Well it's like I'm forever apologising for making a big wait on the next chapter. But, for what it's worth, I'm sorry for getting really distracted and slack with this chapter.  
  
pay-day1999 - Thank you for reviewing again! Hehe, it's probably pretty obvious that Dawn will make the team - I might just have to use a few tricks up my sleeve! :) Anyway, hope you like this chapter.  
  
Fairysk8r - Thanks for both those reviews, you checked back last time and there are two chapters for you and now you've had to wait all this time for this one. Sorry, hehe.   
  
Anne - I really want to get all those chapters you're looking forward to before your 100th birthday, hehe, but it might take a while. I'll be able to write quicker once I really get into the story and have more experience with writing. As for your suggestions, thanks for those - that's what reviewing is all about. You'll see some more of Draco later, but I don't like him so I won't be spending much time writing him into the story, I could always try your suggestion though. We'll see. :)  
  
Interested - Thanks for reviewing again, you always have useful tips :) You also inspired me to go back and fix up some things from previous chapters and expand on some things. With some bits however, it was kinda hard trying to fill in some bits because I didn't really have any more ideas on those particular parts. But anyway, I hope you enjoy this next chapter.  
  
A Watcher - Hehe, Buffy only died twice and the second one happened at the END of Season 5. I realised that I'd stuffed that bit up the other day. I was wondering when someone would notice, and since you did I thought I'd go back and fix that up.  
  
  
  
Now onto the chapter, enjoy!   
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Chapter 7 - The Moment of Truth  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn and Ginny ran practically the whole way to the Quidditch pitch, although getting points taken away for running in the corridor while doing so. Dawn clutched her broom tightly as she ran across the grass to a group standing in the middle of the pitch.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sorry, I'm a bit late." Dawn apologised when they noticed her joining them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry appeared beside her, "I almost thought that you'd had second thoughts." He whispered as Angelina Johnson began to talk.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Who me?" Dawn said smiling, even though she did in fact feel like running away at that very moment.  
  
  
  
  
  
Another nervous Gryffindor standing next to them quietened them with a small 'Shh!', so they tuned into what Angelina had to say.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Everyone who's already on the team will help decide by filling out an honest sheet on each person who is trying out. As for everyone else, I've got a list here of the order you will go in." Angelina explained and once she'd finished talking, the team followed her into the stands.  
  
  
  
  
  
Several other people were gathered in the stands, Buffy, Xander and Anya included - they were interested in learning about Quidditch and also took the opportunity to get to know the students better.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You know what," Buffy began quietly as they waited for the tryouts to begin. "I have a feeling that finding... the you know what could take a while. For all we know, it's standing down there and we are looking at it right now."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well I know I wouldn't mind if we were here for a while yet, do you know how many places there are in the castle that Xander and I could-." Anya added, but was abruptly cut off.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Visit!" Xander said attempting to cover what Anya was going to say. Buffy had already got the idea and screwed up her face in disgust.  
  
  
  
  
  
Meanwhile, down on the ground, people gathered around the list to see where they were in the order. Dawn scanned the list.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh good, I'm not first!" She thought with relief.  
  
  
  
  
  
She waited patiently while several other people such as Vicky Frobisher, Geoffrey Hooper and Seamus Finnigan gathered and took their turns. As soon as Geoffrey got off the pitch, Dawn realised it was her turn.  
  
  
  
  
  
Panic rose up in her stomach, "Geoffrey was really good and I'll never be as good as that!" She thought to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn took all the courage she had and began to walk out on the Quidditch pitch with broomstick in hand. Once she was on her broom and soaring through the air, it seemed like her fears were left back on the ground below.  
  
  
  
  
  
She situated herself in front of the three rings at one end of the stadium. Alicia Spinnet started heaving the quaffle at random rings and Dawn began catching them or hitting them away with her broom.  
  
  
  
  
  
She was satisfied with her effort in the end, although she still kicked herself for the easy save she'd missed.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn walked up to the seating area to be greeted by Ron and Hermione.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I had no idea you were trying out!" Hermione exclaimed, hugging her. "You couldn't even tell your sister?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"You did good ("Well!" Hermione corrected.), well done." Ron congratulated. "Hey, and now it makes sense - why you were disappearing a lot. We thought you were having some sort of rendezvous!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn laughed as Hermione hit Ron in the arm and glared at him. Moments later, all attention was on Angelina as the last person joined everyone in the stands.  
  
  
  
  
  
"The new Keeper will be announced tonight in the Common room just before dinner." Angelina informed all the hopefuls.   
  
  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
  
  
Giles and Tara sat in the staff room, devising their next Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson with the fifth years. Willow was sitting at a nearby desk reading one of her magic books, also intent on not talking to Tara.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I've noticed that a lot of students have been wondering about what the Slayer is or wanting to know specific details." Giles pointed out.  
  
  
  
  
  
"W-well we could teach them, I'm sure that there aren't many more people who are more qualified to talk on that subject than you." Tara said.  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles nodded. "I suppose we could test their knowledge on vampires too, I remember some of the myths I was taught here until I learnt otherwise at the Watcher's Council."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy, Xander and Anya had walked in while Giles was talking and joined the two on the couches.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Too bad Spike's not here though, you could give them a real-life example on how to dust a vampire." Xander joked. "But could you imagine him teaching classes?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander laughed at the idea, while Anya picked up the Daily Prophet and started flicking through. She stopped on the third page.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh, this doesn't look good." She said, pointing to a small article in the bottom right corner of the page.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy took the paper and read the headline out for the Gang to hear. "Mysterious insanity strikes areas near Hogwarts. You're right, Anya. That doesn't sound good."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Although we're all busy with our class, we mustn't lose sight of why we came here." Giles spoke up.  
  
  
  
  
  
"And why would that be?" Professor Snape interjected suddenly from behind, starling the group.  
  
  
  
  
  
The teachers hadn't been informed of the situation yet, Dumbledore and McGonagall were the only others who knew.  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles took of his glasses. "That wouldn't be any of your business, Severus."  
  
  
  
  
  
The others were surprised by the amount of bitterness in Giles' voice; they'd rarely heard him talk like that.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I see some things never change, you always were up to some no good idea of yours when you came here to start with."  
  
  
  
  
  
Snape stood there momentarily before he rushed off. All eyes were on Giles.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay, spill." Willow demanded.  
  
  
  
  
  
"There isn't much to say, I was a few years above him when I came here. He was in Slytherin and I was in Gryffindor, and there is of course the rivalry between the two houses." Giles explained, putting his glasses back on.   
  
  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn sat with her friends and sister on the couches near the fireplace in the Common room. It was almost time for dinner in the Great Hall and her stomach was rumbling madly but that was the least of her worries.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Dawn, relax!" Harry ordered. "You did a great job today but if you don't get it, it's not the end of the world."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why don't we play chess while we wait for Angelina?" Ron suggested.  
  
  
  
  
  
"And be slaughtered by you again? Not likely." Dawn chuckled.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry still had the determination that he'd beat Ron one day, so he accepted Ron's challenge. Hermione meanwhile sat in the armchair reading, as usual.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn went and leant over her sister's shoulder. "Whatcha reading?"  
  
  
  
  
  
She closed the book and looked up. "Oh, I was just reading this fascinating book about the theory of whether other dimensions exist. It has some good points, amazingly."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn snorted. "I can't say that I believe in that rubbish."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well you can read it when I'm done if you like and see for yourself." Hermione recommended. "At the moment, I'm two thirds of the way through and I'm reading about the theory that the walls that separate different dimensions can be taken down. Although, I think that's a bit unlikely."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn went and sat back down on the couch before Hermione really got talking, she heard enough of it when they were back at home. She pulled out the letter from her parents and hoped she had enough time to read it.  
  
  
  
  
  
Glancing at her watch, Dawn realised that dinner was only in ten minutes. When she looked back up, she'd noticed Angelina had come walking down the stairs from the Girls Dormitory's.  
  
  
  
  
  
All action ceased in the room as Angelina looked down at the piece of paper. "I've added up the scores that the team assessed everyone and we have a new Keeper. Congratulations to.."   
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Hehe, I needed a cliffhanger. You'll just have to find out when I eventually get the next chapter completed - sorry! Please, please review if you read my story, I love feedback and evidence that people do actually read my work! Thanks - Akalea :) 


	9. Green Eyed Monster

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Okay everyone! I've gone through and revised my previous chapters trying to tie up some loose ends (and hopefully not create more!). Also I'd like to thank Interested for volunteering to be my beta reader (for the storyline part of the story...hehe).  
  
Oh, and Christmas is right around the corner so obviously I'll be really busy and I also have relatives staying over soon. After Christmas I'm also going away for a little bit (not too long). But I'll take some paper and a pen and see if I can get some writing time while I'm gone.  
  
Anyway, here are the responses to the reviews from Chapter 7:  
  
Interested: Hehe, that's true about Snape. At the time I couldn't think of anything for him to say before he went away so I went back later and fixed that up, I think. Lol. I'm also working on the 'volume' thing, I've got so many ideas it's hard to say everything I want and then I tend to forget about expanding or returning to other occurrences in the story.  
  
WiccanOne48: I don't think you have to complain about the evil cliffhanger, I've been pretty nice so far, hehe :)  
  
A Watcher: Hehe, I thought I might just annoy a few people by doing that. Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Thanks for the reviews, you guy's rock and don't know how much it means to me to get feedback! Anyway, onto the chapter!  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Chapter 8 - Green-eyed Monster  
  
  
  
  
  
"...Congratulations Geoffrey Hooper!" Angelina announced.  
  
  
  
  
  
Mostly there was a moan of disappoint, coming from all the people who tried out and their friends. However, there was a cheer from a corner of the room where Geoffrey and his friends stood.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn, sitting on the couch, could feel the eyes of her sister and friends on her. It didn't make her feel any better, to say the least.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione dropped herself on the couch next to her twin and reached over to give Dawn's hand a quick supportive squeeze.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh well," Harry spoke up. "You gave it your best."  
  
  
  
  
  
Ron joined in encouraging Dawn. "Yeah, and I bet you were pretty close to getting the keeper too."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn frowned, attempting to decide if that was a compliment.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione noticed this and jumped in. "Ron means that you were that good that he's sure it was close, we saw you out there and you were great."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn still hadn't spoken up; she was so let down. She quickly stood up and backed out from the couches.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm going to go up to the Girls' dorm, I'm kind of tired from everything that's happened today." She explained, indicating to the Girls' staircase.  
  
  
  
  
  
She turned around to walk towards the stairs but Hermione called something out. "But it's dinner time, you have to eat!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm not really that hungry." Dawn replied without looking back.  
  
  
  
  
  
She entered the empty dormitory, one side lavished with Parvati's and Lavender's endless supply of robes sprawled across the floor and the other side kept in pristine condition - Hermione and Dawn's side. Even though Dawn wasn't a neat freak, unlike her sister, she did keep everything in place to please her sister.  
  
  
  
  
  
She walked over to her four-poster bed near the window and flopped onto it, stuffing her face into her pillow in the process.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Finally I found something that I really wanted," She began talking quietly to herself. "But of course I'm never good enough."  
  
  
  
  
  
To get her mind of the disappointing news, Dawn thought that she might finally read her parents' letter. She pulled it out from her pocket and unfolded it carefully.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dear Hermione and Dawn,  
  
Your father and I are already missing you and we hope that you can come home next holidays. Hermione, look out for you sister and make sure she does all her homework because it's an important year.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn stopped reading momentarily.   
  
  
  
  
  
"That makes me sound like I'm stupid or something!" She thought to herself, she was now focusing her annoyance towards the letter instead of trying to forget how annoyed she was. She continued reading.  
  
  
  
  
  
We trust that your prefect duties are going well, Hermione. Your father and I just can't express how proud we are.  
  
Dawn, we hope you're feeling better after that horrible stomach bug you had during the end of the holidays and are doing well with your classes.  
  
Your father and grandparent's all say 'hello' and hope to see you next holidays.  
  
Love,   
  
Mum and Dad.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn groaned as the placed the letter on the bed, a jealous voice quietly speaking in the back of her mind. "Mum and dad didn't say that they were proud of me!"  
  
  
  
  
  
She jumped up off her bed. She was going crazy and needed to clear her head so she left the room swiftly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn decided that wandering the quiet corridors while everyone was at dinner sounded like a good idea to clear her head. She turned a left after exiting the Portrait Hole.  
  
  
  
  
  
She wandered the corridors, completely lost in her thoughts that she was completely unaware of where her feet were leading her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Before she'd known she'd rounded one of the many corners in the castle and straight into something solid. She fell to the ground with a small thud.  
  
  
  
  
  
The solid object appeared to be a person and he called out. "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention."  
  
  
  
  
  
He has just left the room he was staying with when Dawn had accidentally collided with him. She looked up and took his offered hand to help her stand back up.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sorry Professor..." She trailed off waiting for him to offer his name; she didn't take Muggle Studies because she was muggleborn.  
  
  
  
  
  
He chuckled slightly. "I'm no Professor, believe me. I feel more comfortable if everyone around here calls me Xander."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn scowled somewhat, if he wasn't an actual Professor, then what was he doing at Hogwarts assisting with Muggles Studies?  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander realised his tiny mistake and decided to change the subject quickly. Since they were both headed in the same direction, he motioned for them to both start walking slowly.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why aren't you at dinner in the Great Hall?" Xander questioned with a concerned frown.  
  
  
  
  
  
She sighed and began to talk. "I didn't really feel like going to dinner, I was just really disappointed and annoyed that I didn't make the Quidditch team - I worked really hard for it."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn didn't know why she was pouring out her thoughts to a stranger that she'd just run into in the hallway. But he seemed kind of understanding and trustworthy for some reason.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Life can really suck sometimes." Xander said grimly, recalling some of the horrific events that have occurred since he met Buffy. "So, what house are you in...?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, my name is Dawn, Dawn Granger." She said quickly, realising she'd not given her name. "And I'm in Gryffindor."  
  
  
  
  
  
She paused momentarily; many things didn't match up. The Gryffindor logo was proudly displayed on her robes, why didn't this new Professor know the school houses?  
  
  
  
  
  
While she was thinking another thought occurred to her. "Why is it that Hogwarts got so many new Professor's this year, and you all seem to be close friends?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander shrugged, trying to come up with the right answer that would satisfy Dawn's curiosity.   
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't know, we come in one big package, I guess." He finished off with a dashing-Xander-smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
A thought appeared in the back of Dawn's mind. "He's kind of cute in a dopey sort of way," Dawn stopped herself right there. "Sod it, I shouldn't really think that about a Professor."  
  
  
  
  
  
Snapping out of her thoughts, she noticed that they'd walked back to the hallway that lead to the Portrait Hole. Xander had still had no idea how to navigate around most of the castle, so he started down the hallway in the opposite direction.  
  
  
  
  
  
"The Gryffindor Tower's this way," Dawn pointed out. "I'm going back up to my room. Thanks for listening."  
  
  
  
  
  
"No problem, Dawn. Don't worry about the Quidditch thing." Xander said before he walked off.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn started heading towards the Portrait Hole but ran into Harry not far down the track, it appeared he'd just returned from dinner in the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What were you talking about?" Harry asked, peering back down the corridor.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn smiled for the first time since the start of the day. "Oh, nothing much - just talking about some things."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Like what?" Harry frowned a little.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn had to refrain from laughing because of the way Harry was asking and how he seemed to be pressing the issue a bit. "Just venting out my thoughts that were annoying me."  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry's frown disappeared as they entered the Common Room.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Well... you can always talk to me, you know." He said quietly and softly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn's heart fluttered. "Thanks, Harry." She briefly threw her arms around him.  
  
  
  
  
  
They said their goodnights before Dawn turned to rush up the stairs and into her dorm. She only got a few steps away when she heard a painful groan. Dawn turned around to see Harry at the foot of the Boys' Staircase.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you alright?" She questioned when she noticed Harry was holding his forehead.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry nodded slowly. "Yeah, don't worry - just a little pain from my scar."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn wasn't quite convinced; she stood there for a minute and had noticed that the pain had apparently gone. She said goodnight again and hurried up the stairs to her dorm.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione was sitting on her bed reading a book, as usual.  
  
  
  
  
  
As Dawn sat down on her bed opposite her sister, she felt her stomach give a huge rumble. She hadn't eaten since lunchtime.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I took the liberty of taking some food for you." Hermione happened to say at the right time, she pointed to a plate of food sitting on Dawn's side table.  
  
  
  
  
  
Every thought of jealousy that had run through Dawn's head earlier was instantly forgotten.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Thanks." She said simply right before she jumped tackled Hermione and they fell onto the floor laughing.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Buffy was woken up to Willow shaking her rather fiercely. She rubbed her eyes and sat up.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Will, what is it?" She asked groggily.  
  
  
  
  
  
As soon as Willow noticed that Buffy had woken up, she leapt up from her kneeling position.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Quick," Willow began urgently. "Apparently there's an important meeting in Dumbledore's Office right now!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy squinted and peered over at her watch. "At this time of the morning, it's three thirty!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I have no idea what it's about, but I was just talking to Giles and he made out that it was serious."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy leaped out of her bed, throwing back her covers in a messy heap. She ran over to her wardrobe and pulled on a jacket and some rather fluffy looking slippers.  
  
  
  
  
  
Walking along the dark, deserted hallways, Willow and Buffy stumbled upon a few of the other Scooby Gang members: Xander and Anya. They too had looked like they'd left their rooms in a hurry with jackets thrown over their pyjamas.  
  
  
  
  
  
Once they'd all passed the gargoyle, they all gathered around the fireplace in Dumbledore's Office. Giles and Tara were already there waiting with grim looks on their faces, they'd already been informed as it appeared.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore toddled over and sat in front of the group; he was in a serious mood, which wasn't that often.  
  
  
  
  
  
"An hour ago, Minerva informed me that Mr. Potter had a disturbing dream tonight." Dumbledore stopped to let Giles explain the significance of Harry's dreams to Buffy, Willow, Xander and Anya.  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles took of his glasses. "You see, since the night when Voldemort (Giles didn't believe in not speaking his name) attempted to use the death curse on Harry and backfired, there has been a sort of connection created between him and Voldemort because of that. So, sometimes Harry's scar may hurt when something bad to do with Voldemort is occurring and lately this sense has progressed to dreams."  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow looked highly interested. "So, this dream from tonight was to do about Voldemort?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"And it's not good news either, judging by the looks on your faces when we walked in." Anya added.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore spoke up again. "You are both correct, Miss Rosenburg and Miss Jenkins. From the information that we acquired from you, Miss Summers, we have found out that Glory and Voldemort are now working together to find the Key."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Shit!" Buffy exclaimed, slightly under her breath.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So instead of just worrying about Glory being after the Key, Voldemort is too now?" Willow asked with disbelief.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "This also means that there will now be Death Eaters sent after the Key too, which will put Hogwarts in some danger."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why does this Voldy guy want the Key, we know why Glory does, but what use is it to him?" Xander questioned reasonably.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara spoke in the conversation for the first time. "A-at first I asked myself that question too, but then I realised that if the Key can open the door separating dimensions, t-then it would have to have a lot of power, right?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore and Giles both nodded in agreement.  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles gently cleaned his glasses. "There's no telling what Voldemort could do if he found the Key."  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Merry Christmas everyone!! I'll be back with another chapter probably in a few weeks. Now Please review and I'll love you forever! 


	10. Suspicions

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Hey Hey! I'm back! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year. I had a horrible holiday at the beach, unfortunately. Took me a while to get back into my writing mood, but I am now! Oh, and a word of warning - I'll be doing my last year of school this year and it's really important that I do well so I can get into a good course at Uni next year. So after this week, I'll probably have even less time to write, hehe and I don't write that often already! Oh well.  
  
Anyway, here are the responses to the reviews from Chapter 8, not that there were many :(  
  
  
  
Anne - Whoa! Thank you - I've never had a comment like that before! Sorry I've had to make you wait for this chapter even though you told me to update frequently, hehe :)  
  
FunkyWitchOnFire - Thank you very much for reviewing the last chapter, please keep it up :)  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Chapter 9 - Suspicions  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn woke up the next morning without having to be hassled by her sister. There was something 'in the air' that made Dawn a little uneasy. She glanced over at Hermione's bed and noticed it was vacant, so she jumped up and threw on her dressing gown and slippers.  
  
  
  
  
  
Once she arrived in the Common Room, she spotted Harry sitting in an armchair, in the corner of the room, looking pensive and extremely exhausted - there were slight dark rings around his eyes.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Morning," She spoke as she sat in the seat next to him. "Where are the other two?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"They went for a walk," Harry informed. "I have something to tell you all, but since you weren't awake we decided to wait for you."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn frowned slightly, it sounded serious by the tone of his voice. "Is everything all right?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry shrugged with a look of utter confusion. "I'm not sure." He covered a yawn.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn didn't bother asking him why he was so tired; she assumed that that would be explained with the story he was going to share with them.  
  
  
  
  
  
The Portrait Hole opened. Ron and Hermione appeared through it, both out of breath. Dawn smiled knowingly, giving Harry a nudge.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What have you two been up to?" Harry taunted, leaning back in his chair.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh," Hermione began, but paused momentarily. "We thought we'd rush back up here because we knew Dawn would be up any time now."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn and Harry nodded slowly, giving them both a look as if to say 'yeah right'. Ron and Hermione seated themselves across from Dawn and Harry and caught their breaths. Harry leaned forward, ready to speak up.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay, well it's definitely time to tell you what happened last night. Ron already knows some things obviously." Harry explained. "Well, last night, before I went to bed. Dawn, you remember my scar hurting? I thought it was nothing; it wasn't too bad and it has hurt worse than that before. I guess I was wrong, because in the middle of the night I had this dream."  
  
  
  
  
  
"About V-Voldemort, right?" Hermione asked, even though it was obvious.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry nodded. "It was hard to make sense of, at first, actually it still doesn't make much sense. Voldemort was standing there talking to someone, a woman, and she was saying something about not being able to find something called 'The Key' herself. So the woman asked for Voldemort's help in return of him getting this key after she used it."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why would You-Know-Who want a key?" Ron questioned as Harry took a break from explaining. "That all sounds a bit odd, doesn't it?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"It does sound odd. But after that was the most disturbing part, the woman had some creature, who she treated as a servant, bring in a person. The next thing I know, she's stuck her hands to the person's head and they screamed... I woke up after that." Harry finished describing.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Who was this person she hurt?" Hermione asked with curiosity.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry shook his head. "I don't know... but they sounded like they were in real pain."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn felt a little creeped out, at the thought of another evil out there, and shifted nervously in her seat. "So what happened when you woke up?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Ron took over explaining. "Well Harry told me that he'd had another one of those dreams and so I suggested that he go see Dumbledore, so he did."  
  
  
  
  
  
The movement within the Common Room had increased, people shuffled past in the large groups, knocking into Dawn's chair as they passed by. It was almost breakfast time and so everyone had stopped what they were doing to make it down to the Great Hall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, we better go." Dawn suggested and stood up.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
From the stories that Dumbledore, Giles and Tara had shared with them, the rest of the Scoobies knew that there was a huge complication to the situation.  
  
  
  
  
  
"There would be no telling what Voldemort would do with something as powerful as the Key." Professor McGonagall spoke quietly as she walked down the hallway beside Buffy.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore didn't keep anything from the Deputy Headmistress, so naturally he'd informed her of the revelation.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Unfortunately, this business is beginning to put the school and it's students in some danger - I really do hope that catastrophe doesn't strike." She continued softly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy pointed to herself. "That's why I'm here. I'm not just a pretty face, I've been through worse situations than this and still kicking some demon ass."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, of course... but I think that Hogwarts could still take some precautions - the Headmaster and the other teachers who're informed of the current situation will soon be meeting to discuss some precautions that we may have to take." Admitted McGonagall.  
  
  
  
  
  
They arrived in the Great Hall for breakfast; McGonagall took her seat next to Dumbledore's while Buffy slowly wandered past the Gryffindor table.  
  
  
  
  
  
"...so Dumbledore must be worried about what you told him last night, Harry. He seems very serious today." She overheard Ron Weasley saying to his friend.  
  
  
  
  
  
"By the looks of it, some of the teachers don't know." Hermione observed in the quiet voice. "I mean, if Dumbledore is concerned about something that'd be enough of a reason for all the teachers to be worried. But look at Snape or Hagrid - they don't look any different than usual!"  
  
  
  
  
  
In fear of lingering too long, Buffy continued walking in between the two tables.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Harry must have told his friends about his dream last night - they're getting suspicious." Buffy informed Giles as she leaned over his shoulder from behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles turned around, snatching off his glasses. "Yes, well, come and speak to me after classes this morning."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy gave a simple nod and took her place at the table.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"So could everyone have an essay, of say no less than 15 inches long, on Vengeance Demons by tomorrow so we can correct them over the weekend." Tara requested as the students filed out of their seats at the end of the morning double.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy squeezed in the classroom door past the students. Willow had taken the second half of class, so Buffy was able to there earlier than normal.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ah! Buffy, good you're here." Giles called out from the desk at the back of the room when he spotted her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey Tara." She greeted as she walked past the blonde witch, Tara responded with a small nervous nod and a smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Now Giles..." Buffy trailed off, observing some students still shuffling out of the room.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Go ahead, Buffy." Giles said, slightly impatient.  
  
  
  
  
  
She leant over a tad and began to whisper. "I would, but the topic of discussion is still leaving the room."  
  
  
  
  
  
He glanced over to see a group of fifth year Gryffindors heading towards the door and exiting the room - chatting away enthusiastically to each other in the process.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay," Buffy spoke up after a few moments. "It's just I'm getting a bit impatient, with finding the Key. I overheard a kids talking today and they're getting suspicious."  
  
  
  
  
  
"But how could--"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well Dumbledore said that Harry had the dream, he's done the first thing anyone in the Scooby Gang or anyone would do - gone and told his friends. Now they're trying to make sense of the dream because they know that it's serious - Dumbledore is concerned. We need to take action - discover who the Key is so we can protect them from Glory and this Voldemort guy." Buffy ranted somewhat.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara, who had been tidying the room up with a spell, joined the conversation. "Well, we have been busy - getting started with classes and the like."  
  
  
  
  
  
"I think it's safe to say that we've settled in, Willow and I have got a class plan, up until Christmas, worked out. Even though it took a few hours of some painful planning - Willow doesn't like to wing it like I do..."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Alright," Giles interrupted. "We have a whole library full of books at our disposal, we could begin our research on the Key tonight."  
  
  
  
  
  
"We c-could also try the student and staff records, see if anything stands out or is unusual." Tara suggested timidly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy nodded firmly. "Hope you guys have luck with the researching."  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles turned to gaze at her with a frown. "Aren't you going to be doing the research too?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Nope. One thing about this place, I miss kicking some evil-butt. Going out to see what I can find, even if it is just an evil-looking shadow."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
Dawn swallowed another bite of her lunch as they sat at the Gryffindor table. She briefly glanced at her timetable, moaning over her subject selections for the year - at the time of choosing them she couldn't really care less with all the happenings in their fourth year. Now she mentally kicked herself over her carelessness.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why, oh why did I choose to do Divination again this year?" She thought out loud to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione shook her head. "I don't know why you chose it, with the old bat who teaches it."  
  
  
  
  
  
"'Coz it's easy, duh." Ron chuckled in between chews.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione turned to stare angrily at him.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ha! There goes the Hermione-glare again." Harry joked around.  
  
  
  
  
  
She threw up her hands. "Well, if you want to select your subjects just because of their level of difficulty, you'll be tremendously disappointed when you complete your NEWT's and aren't qualified for the profession you want."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn laughed. "Calm down, sis. Snape and McGonagall work us hard enough, I think we deserve a chance to relax."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, I better get to Arithmancy. I'll see you after class."  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione hurried off and the remaining three slowly got the motivation to wander to their Divination class with Trelawney.  
  
  
  
  
  
Entering the outrageously decorated classroom, Dawn chatted with Neville Longbottom.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I must've spent all evening last night studying my Divination book," He informed her nervously. "Professor Trelawney told me that I was going to fail our first assessment today, so I spent extra time studying. My gran would be really angry if she found out that I had failed."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Don't worry, Neville." Dawn reassured. "I wouldn't really believe anything that that over-large dragonfly says."  
  
  
  
  
  
They walked past Trelawney, raving on as usual, as they all headed for the furthest table in the room. She suddenly became silent and stiff for a moment before glancing over at Dawn, with an odd look on her face.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You don't belong here, they will come for you." She spoke in a monotone voice.  
  
  
  
  
  
The class silenced, turning to look at Dawn. Parvati and Lavender were whispering to each other at the nearest table. The Professor lowered her head slowly for a short moment and then it jerked back up suddenly.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What was I saying?" She mumbled to herself. "Oh yes, Finnigan, you may want to take your owl to the Hospital Wing soon..."  
  
  
  
  
  
As Trelawney kept babbling on, Harry leaned over to Dawn. "What was that all about?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn threw up her shoulders. "I have no idea."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Maybe not now, but we might find out what it means soon." Ron suggested as they all took a seat and opened up their books.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Maybe."   
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Okay, I think I'll stop right there, otherwise I'll just have to keep going and I'll end up putting all my ideas for next chapter in this one. Hehe. It's really good though because now I'm getting even more ideas for the upcoming storyline that I'm even losing track and not being able to fit some in. :)  
  
Anyway, before you hit that back button, please review! - Akalea ;) 


	11. The Keeper of Keys

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Surprise! Bet you all didn't expect another chapter so soon! I couldn't stop writing and so I thought I'd squeeze in another chapter before I get tied up with school and all. :)  
  
Thanks for those reviews:  
  
hothunnies16 - Thanks for reviewing, even simple reviews like yours really do make my day! :)  
  
BlackCat200 - Lol, you've confused me too. But you have made me realise another aspect of the story that I seriously need to consider, thanks. I guess you'll have to wait and see how that all works out :)  
  
Anne - Hehe, well as a treat, here's this chapter! Thanks!  
  
Interested - It couldn't have without your helpful advice, thanks! Woah, hehe, suddenly I have a lot more to consider with that point brought up! At the time of starting this story, I didn't really think about the whole Dawn was made out of Buffy - I just thought, ooh I can make Dawn be sent to Hogwarts for protection considering it's such a highly protected place and Dumbledore is all highly powerful. Oh well...  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Chapter 10 - The Keeper of Keys  
  
  
  
  
  
The last Saturday of September had arrived before they knew it and Dawn was already overwhelmed with schoolwork and had several rather long essays to complete. The day also marked the first Hogsmeade weekend for the school year.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn rose at the 'ungodly hour' of six o'clock, eager to get her assignments out of the way before they went off to Hogsmeade that afternoon. She scrambled down the girls' staircase, her arms full of rolls of parchment and quills.  
  
  
  
  
  
She gazed around the Common Room, it was completely empty - even her sister wasn't to be found doing work, she'd already got it all out of the way. Dawn needed to use the books from the library, so she quietly made her way there.  
  
  
  
  
  
She took a seat at a table down the end of the library near where the Restricted Section was and pulled out an essay she'd been working on. They'd be told to complete an essay on Vengeance Demons by yesterday, but everyone had struggled to find enough information to make their essays the required length so the deadline was extended.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay..." Dawn said quietly, even though it still echoed throughout the library.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn surveyed her work; she'd only completed five of the fifteen inches in length that the essay had to be. She quickly got to work and gathered up as many books as she could.  
  
  
  
  
  
Soon the time had progressed to 6:45 and Dawn looked back down at her work.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Great," She thought to her self with annoyance. "I'm only two more inches from where I started this morning! This is too difficult!"  
  
  
  
  
  
She threw down her quill in frustration, causing quite a racquet in the process. Gazing back down at her attempt at an essay, she was suddenly startled by a shadow that was cast from over her shoulder.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn quickly jumped around to see what or who was casting the shadow from behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you okay?" Dawn recognised the speaker as the Professor who assisted Hagrid in Care of Magical Creatures. "You look like you're having problems."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh," Dawn responded, still a bit startled. "Yes, Professor Jenkins. Just having trouble with this Defence Against the Dark Arts essay."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Please, call me Anya." The woman said with a smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
A voice came from behind Anya. "What's the essay on, if you don't mind me asking?"  
  
  
  
  
  
It was Xander, and he had his arms stacked up with books. She glanced over and noticed that rope that separated the Restricted Section had been disturbed. Dawn figured that they must have just been in there getting those books.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, it's on Vengeance Demon's and there's hardly any information on them at all." Dawn explained with irritation.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn was confused when the pair let out small laughs after she'd finished explained. Anya took the seat next to her and asked if she could read over Dawn's progress so far. As she read through, she let out some chuckles. Xander, in the meantime, settled his books down on the table in an unstable pile.   
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh I really hated that stupid myth!" Anya cried out as she skimmed over the final paragraph of what Dawn had written.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn frowned, wondering what the older woman was talking about. "Excuse me?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"We've met a few Vengeance Demon's in our day," Xander explained, turning to grin at his companion. "Well, Anya has more experience than anyone I know."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn remained silent. "There is more to these people than there seems. Wonder if Dumbledore knows." She thought to herself.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Anyway," Xander continued. "If there's any information you need - all you have to do is ask Anya here.  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander went to pick up the books he'd settled down, accidentally knocking down the pile with his left hand and they fell onto the floor with loud thuds.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oops, clumsy me!" He cried out as he and Anya bent down to retrieve the books.  
  
  
  
  
  
They both stood up with the books in their arms and turned to say one last thing to Dawn.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Feel free to come by the Staff Room to find me for the information later on, we need to get back there now." Anya told her before she and Xander whisked away.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn collected up her things; she'd decided to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room to work on her Potions essay there. When she rose from the table, her foot collided with something on the floor. She bent down to see what it was and discovered a book that must have fallen under the table with all those other books. She added it to her pile and went on her way.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"Then, it is decided," Dumbledore uttered from behind his desk. "There shall be a number of teachers stationed around Hogsmeade during Hogsmeade weekends to protect and watch over the students."  
  
  
  
  
  
The Headmaster then went to assign Giles, Buffy and McGonagall to patrol the Wizarding community that day. Although Xander, Anya and Willow hadn't been assigned, they were keen to check out Hogsmeade so Tara had offered to show them around.  
  
  
  
  
  
They quickly left the Headmaster's Office, leaving past the Gargoyle. Hagrid was just outside, waiting to go in to see Dumbledore about something. The half-giant smiled down at his co-workers.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Tara!" He called out as she walked past. "Wonderin' if you and yer friends would like the catch up at the Three Broomsticks this afternoon."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay, Xander has kept bugging me about, um, what Wizard alcohol tastes like anyway." The blonde answered timidly and with a short chuckle.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hagrid continued on his way, so the Scoobies headed back for the Staff Room, to converse over their research attempts, before they went to Hogsmeade in an hour or two.  
  
  
  
  
  
One of the biggest tables in the Staff Room was stacked up with mounds and mounds of books of all shapes and sizes. Many teachers seemed annoyed at the mess that was stopping them from using the table; Snape had made a big scene of it, naturally.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Alright," Giles began as he sat down at the head of the table. "Surely we must have found something of use due to our hard researching over the last twenty-four hours."  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow plonked down in the nearest seat. "Well, with the volumes of books that Xander and Anya picked up from the Restricted Section, this morning, we found a chapter in one of the books that makes a reference to the Key. It basically says that it is ancient, thousands of years old and it also goes on about its history a bit."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Except there was a catch." Xander added, from over the top of an old book.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yeah, just when the book seemed to be getting to some really valuable information - the book ended. You see, this was right at the end of the book." Willow explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wasn't the extra information just in the next volume?" Tara quizzed, not understanding the problem.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy threw up a hand. "Wait, let me guess, that volume is missing."  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander clapped his hands together and motioned towards the Slayer. "Ladies and Gentlemen, we have a winner!"  
  
  
  
  
  
"So, what'd we do?" Buffy jumped up eagerly, ready to put her Slayer abilities to good use.  
  
  
  
  
  
Giles squeezed the bridge of his nose with some frustration; he'd hope that doing the research would be more obliging to their mission. "There's nothing much we can do, that volume could have been missing the whole time or someone has taken it."  
  
  
  
  
  
"And we can't exactly storm the castle asking people if they have it, right?" Buffy said disappointedly, slowly lowering back into her chair.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Sorry, Buff." Xander apologised, squeezing her shoulder supportively, from behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara leaped out of her seat excitedly and ran over to a pile of files on the far corner of the table. With a smile she grabbed a handful of them and held them up. The Scoobies stared at her blankly, not understanding her enthusiasm.  
  
  
  
  
  
"We can do something!" She began to flick through the files. "Buffy, Giles, remember what I said the other day about using the student and staff files? Well, Dumbledore was happy to lend me them and I picked them up earlier this morning."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Good one, Tara." Willow congratulated with a sad smile, despite the quarrel going on between the two, she still felt proud of her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"While you guys check out all the files, I can do some snooping and see if anyone notices anyone acting strange around the castle." Anya suggested with a keen smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ahn," Xander began simply. "Snooping for you means being completely blunt and tactless."  
  
  
  
  
  
"And that's one of the reasons why you love me." Anya pointed out with a sweet, yet cheeky, smile.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
"Glorious One!" One of Glory's demon servants, Murk, called out. "We have an idea on who will know where the Key is."  
  
  
  
  
  
Glory turned around, holding up a dress to herself. "Well?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"I'm sure this person will lend us to the Key, your excellent one. I've sent a group out to fetch them immediately - they should return momentarily." Murk informed her, his hands pressed together.  
  
  
  
  
  
Voldemort had entered the room while Murk was informing Glory of the situation, several Death Eaters trailing behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Why wasn't I informed of this?" Voldemort's angry voice boomed throughout the room, making the Death Eater's behind flinch faintly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Murk and the other demon with him, bowed their heads quickly before standing to answer his question.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I-I thought that I might surprise you and the glorious one when the person was brought in." He answered quietly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Voldemort sat down, satisfied by his answer, and wait patiently. Murk had said they would be back with the person they'd captured very soon and so the room went silent as they all waited.  
  
  
  
  
  
Not long after, there was a hard knock at the door. Murk immediately jumped up to get it, a smile falling on his scabby-looking face. He inaudibly exchanged a few words with the person at the door before he walked back to the place he was originally standing.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay," He called out to the people outside. "By all means, bring him in."  
  
  
  
  
  
At least six or seven demons entered the room, slowly dragging a person in behind them. They appeared to be having quite a lot of trouble doing so. Voldemort took one look at the person they'd captured and let out a sardonic laugh, startling the Death Eaters, and Glory, around him.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You brought us that big oaf?" He sounded amused but heated all at once. "You foolish moron!"  
  
  
  
With the flick of a hand, Voldemort had summoned a pair of Death Eaters to approach Murk slowly. The demon backed away cowardly into the corner of the room, his eyes showing his fear.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I-if you will listen, I have good reason to believe that he will know where the Key is." Murk panicked, trying to redeem himself. "You said yourself that this Hagrid is the Keeper of the Keys at Hogwarts, he should know every key within that school."  
  
  
  
  
  
Voldemort withdrew back his minions and replied more calmly. "We shall see."  
  
  
  
  
  
Gazing down at the half-giant unconscious on the floor, Voldemort muttered a spell and Hagrid became entangled in numerous ropes, which made it impossible for him to move once he woke up.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
"How does a Butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks sound?" Harry suggested as the four friends walked around in Hogsmeade.  
  
  
  
  
  
They'd already been to Zonko's Joke Shop and also had gone and bought enough different types of sweets that they were practically bulging out of their pockets. All Dawn knew was that her feet were starting to ache from standing up for so long, so she was agreed to the idea.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What are we waiting for?" Ron said as an answer to Harry's question, and took of down the street.  
  
  
  
  
  
As they wandered up towards the Three Broomsticks, they passed several groups of students and also an old, poor looking wizard. He muttered softly to himself as they walked past, although what he was saying couldn't be understood. Dawn and the others travelled a few more meters down the street before they heard the man calling out to them.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey! What are you doing here, you're not supposed to be here!" He shouted out in an almost drunk-sounding voice, the man was looking straight at Dawn.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione instinctively stood in front of her sister, her hand lingering over her wand, which was located in her pocket.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What the bloody hell is going on here?" Dawn panicked in her head. "First Trelawney, and now him!"  
  
  
  
  
  
The man turned around swiftly and continued off, muttering to himself once more. Ron, Harry and Hermione all turned to look at Dawn, who at that moment had a look of alarm spread over her features.  
  
  
  
  
  
"People like that really do scare me. I don't understand what he was going on about." Dawn explained.  
  
  
  
  
  
"That man sounded drunk, he'd probably just come from the Three Broomsticks." Harry guessed, and Dawn felt a quick squeeze of her hand.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh well, let's go get those Butterbeers." Hermione suggested, pointing the way.  
  
  
  
  
  
As they approached up the steps, the door that entered into the pub flew open rapidly. The Gryffindors jumped back to avoid being hit.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Oh, s-sorry." Tara said timidly, looking around outside with a look of worry on her face.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Is something wrong, Professor?" Hermione inquired, noticing the woman's panic.  
  
  
  
  
  
"You guys haven't happened to see Hagrid around?" Willow asked, suddenly appearing behind Tara. "He was going to meet us here."  
  
  
  
  
  
"We did see him before, Professor." Ron explained, a frown forming on his face. "But Hagrid's never that late for anything."   
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - And so that's all from me for a while - Keep the reviews coming - I enjoy receiving them! - Akalea 


	12. Searching

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either 'the god' Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Hello again! I'm alive! I've just been so busy with everything this year... it's been horrible. I've also had to take a little bit of time to contemplate this chapter and how I wanted it to go and it's actually turned out to be a little bit shorter than usual, sorry.  
  
Also thanks for the review, Anne - you've given me once again another aspect that I need to consider and add to my list of ideas. But it's a really good point, which I hadn't thought of. I'll probably get around to addressing that issue soon, I hope - it's been a struggle trying to get all my ideas for this story out because I've had so many! Hehe But that's probably a good thing. Thanks again for taking the time to review.  
  
And now for the story...  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Chapter 11 - Searching  
  
  
  
  
  
"It's been way too long, I'll floo directly from here to Dumbledore's office." Tara suggested to the group of teachers and students, as they stood around in the Three Broomsticks - causing a few looks for nearby witches and wizards.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow jumped in with an idea. "In the meantime, I think that you four," She paused to point to Dawn, Hermione, Harry and Ron. "Should go back up to the school immediately and make sure that Hagrid isn't back up there."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Alright, Professor." Hermione responded, the other three nodded.  
  
  
  
  
  
The students left the pub quickly as Willow turned back to face Xander and Anya again, Tara had rushed over to use Madam Rosmerta's fireplace.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Where could Hagrid be if he's not at Hogwarts or Hogsmeade?" Anya inquired.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow shrugged and also threw up her hands. "I don't know, maybe this is all just us with our over reactive-ness or tendency to think the worst."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Living on the Hellmouth tends to do that to a person." Xander added.  
  
  
  
  
  
The door sounded behind them and Buffy appeared at Willow's side only a moment later, thrusting of her jacket.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey guys," The blonde greeted with a smile, she'd decided to take a short break from her responsibilities of patrolling the streets. "What's up? I just saw a few students racing up the street like it was urgent or something."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, Tara and Hagrid organised to meet up here, that was well over three hours ago. She was beginning to get worried, so she raced up to Hogwarts and so we've sent out those students as a search party." Willow explained quickly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy put her 'thinking-mode' face on, trying to come up with some explanations.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey," Xander cried out, a bit too loud, so he lowered his voice to a low whisper. "Do you think that this Glory chick has anything to do with it? Maybe she abducted him or something along those lines."  
  
  
  
  
  
"He is the 'Keeper of the Keys' at Hogwarts." Anya pointed out, raising her eyebrows.  
  
  
  
  
  
Xander nodded, smiling proudly at his girlfriend. "She's got a point."  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow threw on her coat; Scotland was much cooler than what they were used to back in California. "Well we better go and update Giles, and also see what's going on back at the school."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn gulped in large breaths as they ran along the tunnel they had used often as a way of getting to and from Hogsmeade, it was a much quicker and more effective way of going from the school to Hogsmeade, or vice versa. Dawn's legs refused to cooperate any further so she halted suddenly, resting her arms on her legs in a bent position.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Dawn, keep going." Ron cried out from behind, she was holding up the line.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ju-st...a...minute!" She said in between breaths.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione took the opportunity to express her puzzlement. "Something is definitely going on with the school at the moment."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Isn't there always?" Harry questioned, bringing up memories of the past four years at Hogwarts - there was always something going on between the lines.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What about your dream, Harry? I wonder what this 'Key' is, and has Dumbledore talked to you since?" Ron brought up as they began to continue on at a slower pace.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry shook his head. "I don't know what's going, I haven't seen Dumbledore lately - apart from at mealtimes. He seems very busy at the moment, whatever's going on - it's serious."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Come on, let's go and check Hagrid's cabin now - we'll talk more later." Hermione urged.  
  
  
  
  
  
"How much further do we have to go?" Dawn asked, her legs still aching.  
  
  
  
  
  
"If I had the Marauder's Map here, I'd be able to tell you." Harry responded. "Hang on, that's an idea!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione caught on. "We could just go up and get the map instead of running the grounds, looking for Hagrid."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara stumbled out of the fireplace in Dumbledore's Office and looked over to see him sitting at his desk talking to Cornelius Fudge, Minister of Magic. Their conversation had halted at her arrival. She stepped forward to speak up.  
  
  
  
  
  
"E-excuse me, Headmaster... Minister," She apologised tensely. "There is a bit of a situation. Hagrid did go down to Hogsmeade today?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore nodded. "Yes, I saw him leave earlier when all the students left, but he's yet to come back if you're are looking for him."  
  
  
  
  
  
"That's the problem, none of the students or professors have seen him at Hogsmeade for a few hours." Tara explained quickly.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Are you saying that Hagrid has gone missing?" Fudge asked with concern and Tara nodded in response.  
  
  
  
  
  
"There are s-some students that are now checking the school grounds, just to be sure." Tara paused momentarily. "Do you think that this could be related to Glory?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Ah," Dumbledore spoke up. "I was just explaining that situation to Cornelius here. It is quite possible that Glory may be attempting to discover the identity of the Key. In fact, it is my understanding that she is yet to learn what form the Key is in."  
  
  
  
  
  
"If this Glory has Hagrid, then how can find them?" Fudge questioned.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Glory knows that she will find the Key at Hogwarts, so there is no doubt that she will be somewhere nearby."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara stepped forward further. "W-Willow, Buffy and I could search around places near here, it's probably better than doing nothing."  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry called out after gently tapping his wand on the Marauder's Map, the other three gathered around to gaze at it.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wow, I didn't know that there were so many students at Hogsmeade, hardly anyone is around." Ron observed.  
  
  
  
  
  
Luckily the castle and school grounds weren't thriving with students, it would have been like picking a needle out of a haystack if one was to try and locate on particular person. The map displayed that many teachers were in their offices and the first and second years, who couldn't go to Hogsmeade, were either in their common rooms or the library.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hmm," Hermione pondered, her eyes not leaving the map. "Well there's Fang in Hagrid's Cabin, but no sign of Hagrid himself."  
  
  
  
  
  
"He doesn't appear to be around," Dawn said. "...Do you suppose that this map would get a fairly good range of the areas surrounding Hogwarts?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Do you mean Hogsmeade, for example?" Harry asked, looking up at her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Yes, let's go back through the tunnel and try it out."  
  
  
  
  
  
With that the four Gryffindors made their way past Snape, patrolling the hallways in his paranoid manner, and behind the statue of the one eyed witch. They walked most of the way along the tunnel before opening up the map to glance at it again.  
  
  
  
  
  
Harry stopped, holding up the line behind him. He retrieved the map from his pocket and gradually unrolled it.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Is it working?" One of the others called out from behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
"We'll go out onto the street first, it's hard to tell."  
  
  
  
  
  
Ron and Harry couldn't resist stopping to stock up on Chocolate Frogs and Fizzing Whizzbees before exiting Honeydukes via the front entrance.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey," Ron called out as he looked down at the map in Harry's hands. "You actually get a pretty good view of Hogsmeade on the map."  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn reached out and pointed to a region higher on the map. "Except it seems to just stop up here. Maybe that's as far as your dad and his friends got to making on the map. Let's go and check it out."  
  
  
  
  
  
They were heading up towards general direction of where Sirius hid out for that short amount of time last year, while they were all in their Fourth year. The tiny dots and writing that represented each of them on the map were verging closer and closer to the edge of the map.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione had taken the map herself after they'd taken a few wrong turns around the more unfamiliar parts of Hogsmeade when Harry had the map in his possession ("And they say women can't read maps!" Hermione had said).  
  
  
  
  
  
"What was that?" She broke the silence and startled the other three in the process.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's wrong, sis?" Dawn asked.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione pointed to a spot over on their right. "Over there, I just saw a group of dots appear near the border of the map and then they disappeared again."  
  
  
  
  
  
They set off to investigate, walking further into bushland and away from the town behind them. Harry, who was naturally walking in the lead halted and put up his hand to silence Ron and Hermione who were bickering over Hermione's comment about reading maps.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I hear some footsteps." He whispered and began to creep forward step by step.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Harry! Come back, I don't think that's such a good idea." Dawn called out softly, a little part of her sister coming out in her.  
  
  
  
  
  
The next moment, there was a loud snap of a branch breaking as he tripped over it and tumbled onto the ground noisily. He sprang back onto his feet and turned back to his friends.  
  
  
  
  
  
As Harry did so, he felt something sharp poke into his back and he froze hastily.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Even though this chapter's shorter, this really the best place to end it for the time being. But the next chapter is definitely going to be a long one! Please review, it really does make me more motivated and I only got 1 review last chapter and look how long it took for this chapter. :P Lol! - Akalea :) 


	13. Rescue Mission

Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Yay, I just remembered why I enjoyed writing fan fiction. Thanks for all those reviews, I don't think I've had that many for a chapter ever. It's really great to know that there are many people reading my story. :D   
  
  
  
Passive Christian - Sorry if I offended you. I've changed the disclaimer for this chapter, but it's a bit annoying to go back and change all the chapters. It wasn't meant as a claim that Joss Whedon IS God, though.  
  
Lexi - Thanks for reviewing, I'm pretty predictable... lol.  
  
Tanydwr - Lol, yeah I usually have to make things more complicated than they are. Thanks for reviewing.  
  
Pay-day1999 - Thanks for the review. The gang will find out about Dawn, eventually, hehe. But don't worry I've got it planned out and it will be pretty soon. I hope you didn't think that the wait for this chapter was too long. :)  
  
Also many thanks to NicolaAfyon, MegCat06, Kiara-Zzyopen and blackcat200. I hope I haven't forgotten anyone, for some reason all my reviews don't show sometimes. Anyway...  
  
  
  
Where we left off:  
  
"I hear some footsteps." He whispered and began to creep forward step by step.  
  
  
  
"Harry! Come back, I don't think that's such a good idea." Dawn called out softly, a little part of her sister coming out in her.  
  
  
  
The next moment, there was a loud snap of a branch breaking as he tripped over it and tumbled onto the ground noisily. He sprang back onto his feet and turned back to his friends.  
  
  
  
As Harry did so, he felt something sharp into his back and he froze hastily.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *   
  
  
  
Chapter 12 - Rescue Mission  
  
  
  
10 minutes earlier:  
  
  
  
"Where should we look first?" Buffy questioned Tara, as her, Willow and Tara walked along. Buffy was definitely not as familiar with the area as Tara was.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh," Tara pondered. "I guess the first place we could try is probably, uh, just to check around here at Hogsmeade - it's located not far from Hogwarts, which is where Glory and Y...You-Know-Who would probably be because of its location."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Okay then."  
  
  
  
  
  
The three women wondered back past the Three Broomsticks, catching the eye of a few students, whom were all getting ready to depart for Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What about this way, Tara?" Buffy asked, pointing up towards the limit of the Wizarding town.  
  
  
  
  
  
A moment had passed and Tara hadn't answered, Willow turned to look at Tara, who was walking just slightly behind her a moment earlier, to see that Tara wasn't there anymore. Buffy and Willow came to a halt and swung around to check behind.  
  
  
  
  
  
A few metres behind them, Tara was crouched on the ground in an unusual daze with her eyes firmly shut. The other two women ran back over to her, crouching down to Tara's level.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Tara?" Willow asked with concern. "Are you okay?"  
  
  
  
  
  
She slowly opened up her eyes and turned to look at her two concerned friends.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Um," She began, but still seemed distracted. "I-I think so."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy and Willow helped her back up onto her feet, still frowning with concern.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What happened?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Y-you know how I had some of those dreams a couple of weeks ago," Tara explained. "I-it was like that... but this time I was asleep... it was almost like a dream. I saw Hagrid... and..." She trailed off and then began to race off up the street with determination.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Wait!" Buffy called out, running after her and slowing her down by putting her hands on Tara's shoulders.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I know where Hagrid is, Glory's there too but You-Know-Who isn't there, I don't think." Tara clarified and continued walking.  
  
  
  
  
  
"So," Willow began as her and Buffy caught up to walk beside Tara. "Are you saying that you just had a 'vision'... like a seer or something?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara shook her head. "I'm n-not sure, but we really need to find Hagrid soon or they're probably going to kill him."  
  
  
  
  
  
They walked beyond the town's last buildings and started to enter a reasonably thick bushland, if they were keeping Hagrid around there it would make it harder to find exactly where. Tara continued to walk along, with a confidence that neither Buffy nor Willow had seen in her before. It appeared that she knew exactly where she was headed.  
  
  
  
  
  
The pace slowed down, as they appeared to reach a small area where the thickness had decreased in the forest. Tara paused, which made Buffy stopped too and her 'Slayer senses' kick in.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Hey," Buffy whispered. "I think I hear talking."  
  
  
  
  
  
She turned and walked towards the sounds with her natural stealth. The talking was getting closer and closer each time she took a step, but then it suddenly stopped. She froze for a minute, but accidentally caused a rustling noise.  
  
  
  
  
  
Waiting for a moment, to see what would happen next, Buffy heard a rather loud thud that appeared to be from something or someone. She followed her instincts and made a dash towards the noise, she spotted the retreating back of someone.  
  
  
  
  
  
Naturally, Buffy had whisked out the stake she kept with her at all times and pressed to the back of the person.  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow and Tara had waited for a few awkward minutes together in silence, waiting for Buffy's return. However, when it took longer than expected, they both came to the decision to go after her.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Buffy?" Willow called out with uncertainty.  
  
  
  
  
  
A voice came from their right. "Over here."  
  
  
  
  
  
They turned to see Buffy standing with the four Gryffindors: Dawn, Hermione, Harry and Ron.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What the heck are you four doing here?" Buffy was interrogating them.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Uh, we were... looking for... Hagrid." Hermione explained quietly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn decided to justify their actions; they were probably still going to get a detention anyway. "Hagrid is our friend and we just couldn't sit around and do nothing."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy rubbed her face and sighed. "I know how you feel, when you just want to do something and not feel so helpless."  
  
  
  
  
  
"But," Willow added. "We're probably still going to have to report this to Dumbledore, even if when we were only a little older than you guys, Buffy and I would skip school on some kind of rescue mission too."  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara signalled the other two women over to her. "So, what are we going to do now? We couldn't just let them run around on their own."  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, we could take them with us, but when we find the right place one of us can wait outside somewhere safe with them." Buffy suggested, which met Tara and Willow's approval.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara then continued to lead the group through the forest and they had picked up their pace because it was only an hour until nightfall. It took them a short time to reach a clearing in the forest, they could see the sky clearly again and it appeared incredibly grey and threatening.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What's that over there?" Ron spoke up; pointing at a rickety-looking two-storey house nestled in between trees on the other side of the clearing.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara looked over at it nervously. "That's it."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy turned to face the group, getting into her leader mode. "Okay, this is what's going to happen. Tara, you'll stay here with Harry, Dawn, Hermione and Ron. Willow, you and I will go around the clearing, so that we don't draw attention and check it out."  
  
  
  
  
  
Everyone nodded in response and split into the two groups. Tara gathered up the four Gryffindors and led them over to a place near the edge of clearing where they still couldn't be seen. Willow and Buffy began their march around the edge of the clearing, being careful as not to be seen.  
  
  
  
  
  
It wasn't long before the blonde and the redhead reached the house, which was practically falling apart.  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow leaned over to whisper in Buffy's ear. "Okay, so how are we going to tackle this?"  
  
  
  
  
  
"Well, we'll trust Tara's instincts here and just burst in and catch them by surprise. Sound like a plan?"  
  
  
  
  
  
Willow nodded with a smile; Buffy was always straight to the point. They then proceeded to creep around the outside of the house and to what appeared to be the front of the house. Approaching the door, Buffy held hand up and counted down from three. On one, Buffy plunged her leg into the door with a mighty crunch and entered, with Willow right behind her.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy shouted out as she entered. "Okay, show's over!"  
  
  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
  
  
"Professor Maclay," Hermione began very timidly as they sat around. "I was wondering if you knew who has Hagrid and why did he go missing?"  
  
  
  
  
  
The other three stopped their small conversations to pay attention to Tara's response.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara stood in thought for a short moment. "I really can't s-say anything about that, except that you shouldn't be wandering off and alone right now. It's just too dangerous."  
  
  
  
  
  
The four teenagers weren't really satisfied by this answer and still appeared confused and curious. Their curiosity was however switched to the enormous cracking noise coming over from the house.  
  
  
  
  
  
"What the bloody hell was that?" Ron cried out, jumping with fear.  
  
  
  
  
  
"I don't know, but Willow and Buffy can handle it."  
  
  
  
  
  
After several more minutes, with loud and painful noises emanating from the house, the five witches and wizards still sat in wait. Buffy, Willow and Hagrid had still not emerged from the house.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Y-you know what," Tara broke the silence. "Screw that!"  
  
  
  
  
  
Dawn, Harry, Hermione and Ron all quickly glanced at each other with surprise and raced off after Tara, who'd already ran a few metres ahead. They soon caught up, right before they all reached the front stairs of the house. Tara motioned for them to say further behind from her and whispered for them to keep themselves aware of everything going on around them.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara dashed up the stairs, her wand pointed out in front of her. She peered along the hallway, there were several repulsive demons lying on the floor either dead or unconscious. She stepped over them and continued on through the house, the bottom level appeared to be empty.  
  
  
  
  
  
A large thump came from the floor above them, all five of them gazed up at the roof.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Come on," Tara urged, racing towards the stairs. "They must be upstairs."  
  
  
  
  
  
Upstairs, there appeared to be quite a scene. At the top of the stairs was one large room. Several of what Tara figured to be Glory's minions, the same demons as downstairs, were lying on the floor. The minions that were still conscious were standing in front of a door, guarding it.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy was fighting Glory and didn't appear to have the upper hand, she was covered in several cuts a bruises on her face and arms. She looked around for Willow and found her lying unconscious in a heap against the wall.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Quick!" She cried out to her companions. "See if you can get her downstairs, now."  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy, even though she was a little worse for wear, seemed to be containing Glory and was a good distraction against anything else that was occurring around them. Tara decided to use this advantage and ran over to the door that was being guarded by a great amount of minions.  
  
  
  
  
  
She pointed her wand directly at Glory's minions. "Stupefy!" She shouted with might.  
  
  
  
  
  
Several of them keeled over backwards, the remaining ones charged themselves towards her. She raised her wand to scream another jinx at them but one of them surprised her from behind, grabbing her roughly and covering her mouth so that she couldn't cast another spell.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara jumped up and ground, trying to break free of its grasp without much luck. It began to drag her across the room as she tried to resist.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Impedimenta!" She heard, called out from behind her. The minion who had her in their grasp, dropped to the floor very suddenly.  
  
  
  
  
  
Tara turned around and saw Harry and Dawn standing behind her, their wands still pointed out from the spell that they'd just cast.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Thanks." She said quickly before taking out the final minions left standing.  
  
  
  
  
  
The three of them rushed through the door to find Hagrid, bound by many different types of restraints and spells - it took a lot to restrain the half-giant. Hagrid looked surprised at their sudden entrance, but extremely thankful at the same time.  
  
  
  
  
  
They began to work on getting him free of the chair he was sitting in. Dawn and Harry worked on getting him out of the restraints, while Tara worked on counter-curses. It took a few minutes to do this, but as soon as they'd finished the four of them raced back into the other room, where Buffy was still fighting.  
  
  
  
  
  
"Buffy!" Tara called out, earning the attention of both Buffy and Glory.  
  
  
  
  
  
Buffy took the opportunity of this moment to plant a kick straight into Glory's stomach. The kick sent Glory flying across the room and straight into the back wall of the room. Buffy made a run for it, signalling for Tara, Hagrid, Dawn and Harry to race down the stairs.  
  
  
  
  
  
Hermione and Ron were down near the front door, watching over unconscious Willow. Hagrid scooped Willow up in his arms, with no effort, and they all went darting back to Hogwarts.  
  
  
  
  
  
Glory watched them retreat from a distance. "That damn slayer," She spat out with hate. "She tore my favourite dress!"  
  
  
  
* * *  
  
  
  
A.N - Well that's it for this chapter. Keep reviewing :) - Akalea 


	14. Seeing Through

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Hi guys! I'm back! It's been a while and I have been so flat out with work to complete and a social life on top of that. I'll be getting a break soon, so that will be a good opportunity to write some more. :) Now on with the reviews:  
  
Tanydwr - Thanks so much for reviewing, just a simple comment like yours lets me know that at least someone out there is reading my story!  
  
pay-day1999 - Hehe, you can thank my beta reader for suggesting that I put a comment like that at the end. But it is so typically Glory, isn't it? :) Thanks.  
  
blackcat200 - Thanks for the review, sorry you had to wait so long for this chapter but things have been so mad lately!  
  
Lexi - Hehe, thank you for the review, hope you like this chapter.  
  
Anyway, now on with the story. (Perhaps you need to re-read the last chapter because it's been so long...lol!) And damn, the format I was using doesn't work anymore, so I've gone for a new one. :)**

Chapter 13 - Seeing Through

"Just before class finishes, we'll be handing back those Vengeance Demon essays that you handed in before the weekend," Giles informed the fifth year Defence Against the Dark Arts class. "Although, I must say that most of them didn't contain nearly enough information. However, one essay, in particular, stood out from the rest and had very detailed information."

Several people in the room had automatically turned to look at Hermione, who rarely did school work that the Professors didn't like.

Tara was wandering the room handing back the scrolls of parchment. She approached the table Dawn, Harry, Ron and Hermione were sitting at and shuffled through the different scrolls.

"Here you go." She said, placing four scrolls on the table.

Ron screwed up his face. "Harry, can you check my mark for me? I did really bad on this essay!"  
  
"Come on, Ron," Dawn encouraged. "You only think that you did bad, no one likes their own work."  
  
"I don't think that I did bad, I know I did, especially since Hermione didn't let me copy off her!"  
  
Dawn laughed as she unrolled her work to survey the damage. As gasped with surprise as she gazed down at her mark.  
  
"An Outstanding?" Dawn thought to herself. "Surely this must be Hermione's essay and she's got mine."  
  
She double-checked the name at the top of the scroll. There was no doubt that this was her work.  
  
"Wow, getting that advice from Anya really paid off. Hmm... she seemed to know a lot..." Dawn's thoughts trailed off as her sister appeared over her shoulder.  
  
"How did you go?" Hermione asked with interest.  
  
"I actually got an 'O'!" Dawn announced, feeling very pleased with herself.  
  
Hermione hesitated for a moment before smiling and congratulating Dawn. Dawn snuck a quick glance at the essay in Hermione's hand to see a 'exceeds expectations' written in a script handwriting. Hermione whisked away and returned to her pack up her things before the class ended.  
  
"Well done!" Ron and Harry congratulated a moment after Hermione had gone to pack.  
  
Dawn's moment of excitement was over, and her face fell. Harry glanced over picked up on this.  
  
"What's wrong?"  
  
She sighed. "Well, it didn't really seem like she was very happy, did it?"  
  
"Don't worry about Hermione. Everyone, including her, is just used to her being the top of the class in everything."  
  
"Bloody hell! How much did you write?" The voice attracted their attention as Ron exclaimed from beside them, peering down at Hermione's collection of scrolls.  
  
Hermione glared. "Don't swear, Ron."  
  
"Really, there are a lot worse words that I can think of, like..." Ron trailed off.  
  
Dawn and Harry smirked at each other knowingly, tuning out from that moment on as Ron and Hermione got off into one of their common, and not to mention annoying, arguments.

* * *

"Ah, great. Now that everyone is here..." Albus Dumbledore began as the teachers took their seats around the fireplace in Dumbledore's Office.  
  
"Headmaster," Severus Snape spoke up, stopping Dumbledore before he started talking. "Have you asked us all here to discuss and explain what has being happening around the school and Hogsmeade lately." He also gestured towards Hagrid, who'd been cleared to leave Hospital Wing earlier that day.  
  
Dumbledore held his hand up. "All in good time, Severus."  
  
The ageing wizard took his place, seated in the circle of staff members. He had chosen his office as the place for the meeting to take place because it was secure with many charms and spells preventing any information from leaving those walls.  
  
"Now, perhaps the start is the best place." He finally spoke up again. "I thought it the right time to inform all the teachers and staff of Hogwarts of the current situation, although some already know." He glanced over at McGonagall and the newer additions to the teaching staff.  
  
"The school and its students are once again in danger, Voldemort and a powerful god called Glory are searching for an extremely dangerous and powerful magical entity, otherwise known as 'the Key'..." Dumbledore started to explain the recent events, with the assistance of Buffy and Giles along the way.  
  
Once the explanations were over and done with, the teachers, who weren't already aware, sat with looks of disbelief and confusion.  
  
"So, yer tellin' me that this key thing that You-Know-Who an' that woman were lookin' for and talkin' abou' when they captured me is actually one of the students, but yer don't know who?" Hagrid asked incredulously.  
  
Giles nodded. "Yes, and we've being trying to find out since we arrived at Hogwarts."  
  
"The Key is well hidden though, that's for sure." Buffy added.  
  
"Headmaster," Madam Poppy Pomfrey spoke up. "What shall we do if more people, students particularly, keep turning up insane? We've already got two in the Hospital Wing right now."  
  
"I'm afraid there isn't much we can do right now. The only thing would be to take extra precautions - have teachers and prefects escort students and also have the corridors and school grounds patrolled more frequently." Dumbledore explained as he rose from his seat.  
  
The other teachers went to do so as well, the sound of the chairs scraping across the floor echoed as they rose up from their seats. Dumbledore quickly thanked them for attending the meeting and scheduled another before disappearing behind his desk.  
  
Buffy, Willow and Tara chatted with Hagrid as they left, discussing their ordeal a few days earlier.  
  
"So, how are you feeling?" Willow questioned with concern, he certainly didn't look his best when they'd rescued him from Glory.  
  
"Ah, not bad, 'though I wouldn't be sayin' that if yer hadn't rescued me. Thanks fer that." Hagrid replied with gratitude.  
  
Buffy smiled. "Lucky that Glory didn't really hurt you before we got there, and you should probably be thanking four very nosey and adventure-craving fifth years that we know, it wasn't just us. Have they always been like that?"  
  
"Since their firs' year at Hogwarts. Tha' year I got a dragon..." Hagrid launched into story as they wandered the corridor to the staff room.

* * *

"SILENCE!!" Snape barked, while the class chattered as they took their seats in the potions classroom.  
  
The silence was achieved immediately; when it came to Professor Snape it was best to do exactly what he said with no questions asked.  
  
"Today we shall be making a rather simple potion, located on page 135 of your textbook, even a second year could make it." He paused momentarily to glance at Neville, who turned red with embarrassment. "However, your challenge for today will be something else."  
  
Hermione, glancing down at her textbook, raised her hand into the air. A look of displeasure fell on Snape's face.  
  
"Yes, Miss Granger?"  
  
"Professor," Her finger trailing a line in the book. "Here it says that we need fresh snake skin, where are we going to get that?"  
  
"As I was saying," He continued. "Making the potion is simple, it's the ingredients and retrieving them that will be the challenge for today."  
  
Snape whisked a large cloth covering on the table beside him to reveal a rather large snake slithering around its container. Some of the girls jumped back in fear, feeling uncomfortable by the presence of a snake in the room.  
  
"Okay, now each come up and collect their skin."  
  
"How do we do that, Professor?" Another student called out.  
  
"You stun the snake with your wand and then peel off the required amount off the top layer since it's about to shed its skin." Snape explained impatiently and retreated to his office to retrieve something.  
  
The students got to work, many of them having trouble stunning the snake for long enough. Dawn and Hermione approached the container wearily.  
  
"Okay, I'll cast the spell, you get the skin." Hermione ordered. Dawn nodded, she was used to being ordered around by her sister.  
  
Dawn took the covering off the container and peeped into it, the snake had recovered from the last person who'd stunned it. Hermione raised her wand, angling it towards the reptile.  
  
"_Stupefy!"_ She called out, however, at the last minute the snake slithered out of the path of the spell.  
  
The spell rebounded of the glass walls of the container, eventually shattering the glass everywhere. The snake immediately took advantage of its freedom, slithering over the shards of glass and towards the two sisters. They both stepped back, separating as they did so.  
  
The snake sustained its approach, however, it completely ignored Hermione and continued its pursuit on Dawn. The girl reached into her robes and pulled out her wand to point at the snake. At this point, the creature was almost at her feet. As Dawn opened her mouth to cast a spell, the snake stopped abruptly and reared up the top half of its body.  
  
The other fifth year girls squealed and shrieked in terror, but could not take their eyes off the scene. Nevertheless, the room fell into silence as the snake halted, just staring up into Dawn's nervous face.  
  
At this moment, Snape came bursting out of his office. "What on earth is g -"  
  
Harry had appeared at Dawn's side, looking down at the disturbed reptile. He then went into his Parseltongue to settle the snake down, while Snape came over and contained it.  
  
"Alright!" Snape yelled. "Nothing to see here, keep working!"  
  
A little shaken up, Dawn and the rest of the class continued to work on the potion, knowing that they didn't have much time left to complete it.

* * *

Arriving back in the Gryffindor common room, the four friends threw down their books and settled into the couches.  
  
"Are you sure you're alright?" Hermione nagged her twin.  
  
"I'm fine." She replied, but Hermione looked unconvinced.  
  
Ron leaned forward to rest his head in his hands. "Did you notice how that snake almost completely ignored Hermione and went straight for Dawn? What did it say to you, Harry?"  
  
Harry shrugged. "It seemed really upset about being confined like that."  
  
"Well, who can blame it? It is, after all, kept in the Dungeons with Snape." Dawn joked, which resulted in a chuckle from the two boys.  
  
Dawn turned to her sister. "What's wrong?"  
  
"It's nothing, there's just a lot of peculiar things happening around Hogwarts at the moment. Those people mysteriously losing their minds, Hagrid being captured..."  
  
"That's usually the way." Harry contributed. "I'm sure things will settle down."  
  
The twins came rushing into the room, with Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell in tow. They scanned across the room until their eyes fell on the four over on the couches.  
  
"Harry!" Fred called out. "There you are!"  
  
"We've been looking all over the school for you!" George added.  
  
Harry turned his head. "What's going on?"  
  
"Angelina's requested an immediate meeting for the team, down at the Great Hall."  
  
Harry frowned. "Did she say why?"  
  
Alicia stepped in and nodded. "We need to discuss who our new keeper is going to be, our old one is now in the Hospital Wing and it really doesn't look like he'll be playing for the rest of the season!"

* * *

**A.N - Dun Dun Dun! Well, of course you'll probably figure out what will happen next! Until then, your reviews are greatly appreciated. :) - Akalea**


	15. Witness

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :)   
  
Author's Note: Hi there everyone! Bet you're glad that the wait for this one wasn't a long as the last wait. I just went away and had this chapter done but it hadn't been beta'd.   
  
Thanks to those who reviewed the last chapter:  
  
lANN - Thank you so much for reviewing. Hope you like this chapter. :)  
  
Lexi - Thanks :) Someone who reviewed actually reminded me about the snake thing and it gave me ideas about that and the whole Parseltongue thing.  
  
Kiara-Zzyopen - Well, the curiousity might get the better of you, I'm enjoying writing this story and pacing it out. Hehe. You've brought up some interesting points and I'll definitely be considering them later on. Thanks.  
  
fortunecookies - They'll figure out that Dawn is the Key very soon, I've got it in my head - there's just some ideas I'm seeing to first. Hehe, I don't think Buffy will be dying considering this is like an alternate universe from the real Season 5. Thanks for reviewing and I'd love it if you'd spread the word. ;)  
  
Tanydwr - A few chapters ago, Anya and Xander ran into Dawn in the library. Hehe, yeah I know it was a while ago. Yeah, I have been checking those stats but I guess there are those people who read but done actually review. Oh well, that doesn't matter I guess. Thanks for the review. :)**

** --Damn! I've already uploaded this chapter but something went wrong and it's not showing up, so here it is again! For those of you who have reviewed recently, I'll acknowledge you next chapter. Thanks.**  
  
Chapter 14 - Witness  
  
"Where are we going to find, and train, a new Keeper just a week before our first match against Hufflepuff?" Katie Bell inquired, turning to look at the captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, Angelina Johnson.  
  
Angelina pulled a piece of paper out of her bag and looked up at her fellow team members, all seated on the tables and chairs around her, in the Great Hall. "Well, we didn't have try-outs for nothing, did we? We're just going to have to take our next choice..."  
  
Meanwhile, in the Gryffindor common room, Dawn lunged herself into a chair opposite her sister.  
  
"Hey Hermy, what are you doing?"  
  
A faint smile emerged on Dawn's face at the way her sister slightly twinged at the nickname.  
  
"I'm just doing some reading up on things."  
  
Dawn brought her legs up to her chest, noticing that Hermione was very absorbed into her reading. She turned to look at Ginny seated in the next chair, who was looking a little upset.  
  
"What's wrong, Ginny?"  
  
The red head sighed. "One of the girls in my dorm, who I've gotten along really well with is in the Hospital Wing. She's one of the latest victims to this weird insane thing. I heard that our Keeper is too, is that true?"  
  
"The twins, Katie and Alicia came running up here before to tell Harry, they're having some sort of a meeting right now."  
  
"Well whoever it is," Ron began, joining the conversation. "They're going to have to work their arse off, the match is next week!"  
  
Many of the students looked up expectantly as the team entered the room. As Angelina stood forward, Dawn looked over and noticed Harry had a smile on his face.  
  
"Why the heck is he so happy?" Dawn wondered.  
  
"Anyway," Angelina's voice rose above all the chit chat. "We've had to make a really quick decision about who's going to replace our old Keeper. The person who had the second highest amount of votes from the team was Dawn Granger. Congratulations, you're on the team."  
  
Dawn fought the urge to turn and look over her shoulder as everyone turned to gaze at her, with smiles on their faces. She'd always enjoyed going out to watch all the Quidditch matches at Hogwarts but the fact that she'd actually be a part of them was something that scared her.  
  
Speechless, Dawn attempted to open her mouth to say something but she only managed quiet incoherent mumbling. She still had to adjust to the idea of being in the spotlight for once, being Harry Potter's friend and having Hermione, who was extremely smart and talented at everything, as a sister.  
  
Angelina motioned for her to come over. "Come on, we've got to sort out your uniform and we've only got a week to practice!"

* * *

Willow sat alone in the deserted staffroom scribbling endlessly onto a piece of parchment and researching what to do next for her class. They had already covered learning how to retrieve your wand using wandless magic and how to cast some basic protection spells without wands.  
  
Since the staffroom was deserted, the only other sound that could be heard, besides the scratching of her quill, was the constant dripping of rain on the roof and windows.  
  
A sudden bang that reverberated throughout the room caused her to leap out of her seat. She turned around, thumping her hand onto her chest and taking in deep breaths.  
  
"Oh, it's only you." She said with relief to Xander. "You scared the heck out of me."  
  
"Sorry, Wills." Xander replied sheepishly as he took the seat opposite.  
  
"What's up?" Willow questioned, noticing the nervous look on his face. There was a moment of silence as Xander hesitated.  
  
Glancing around briefly, he began to speak quietly. "Was wondering if I could get your help with something, except it's got to be kept really quiet. Not like how I told you about what Anya did a few weeks ago and by the end of the day, the news had reached Madam Rosmerta over in Hogsmeade."  
  
Willow covered a laugh. "But that was just too hilarious to keep to myself, and you know how I tend to blurt things out when I start babbling."  
  
Xander glared at her but couldn't hold it for long, a slight smile tugged on his lips. "Okay, so it was funny, but having weirdo's like Snape knowing about things that happen in mine and Anya's spare time is a little bit scary and not to mention, gross."  
  
Willow chuckled. "Well, it's hard to keep a secret in this school."  
  
"Perhaps I should go and ask Buffy instead..." Xander trailed off, getting up out of his seat.  
  
Willow reached out and put a hand on his shoulder to make him stop. "Don't mind me, I'm in a silly mood - well aren't I always? But anyway, go on Xander, what is it?"  
  
Xander sighed, from this Willow could tell it was actually important. "Okay, remember not to tell anyone! The next chance we get to go to Hogsmeade, can we meet up at the Three Broomsticks and then..."

* * *

"Oh shit!" Dawn swore, taking full opportunity of her sister not being around to scold her. "I'm never going to get this right!"  
  
She'd been practicing with the Gryffindor Quidditch team for the last hour, missing half the shots Alicia, Angelina and Katie threw towards the rings.  
  
"Take it easy," Angelina called out, flying over to her. "I know you can do, we saw what you were capable of at the tryouts."  
  
Using a Sonorus charm to increase the volume of her voice, Angelina spoke to all the team members spread around the Quidditch stadium. "We'll practice another twenty minutes and then give it in for the day."  
  
During those last twenty minutes, Dawn had improved her skills to stop the Quaffle but didn't think that it was good enough for the upcoming game against Ravenclaw.  
  
As they all wandering into the changing rooms, she felt every muscle she knew of ache and throb. Harry and the twins both came over to her.  
  
"Not bad, Granger." Fred said giving Dawn a firm thump on the back.  
  
"Did much better than we did for our first practice." George added, also thumping her on the back.  
  
Dawn cried out as the pain shot down her body. "Thanks, a lot."  
  
The twins walked off chuckling to themselves and Dawn turned to talk to Harry. "Does every practice leave you feeling this painful?"  
  
He shook his head. "You get used to it, but at least Angelina's better than what Wood made us do, he was a bit obsessed with winning the Quidditch Cup each year, wasn't he?"

* * *

After cleaning and changing they hiked back up to the castle for a long awaited dinner in the Great Hall. Dawn took a little longer than normal to step over onto the bench at the table, her muscles refusing to cooperate without making movement agonizing.  
  
Ron appeared very excited. "So, how'd it go? Are we going to beat Ravenclaw next Saturday?"  
  
Dawn had already begun silently shovelling food onto her plate and into her mouth. Harry and Ron sparked a very long conversation about Quidditch and she was too tired to pay attention. Hermione, in the meantime, had a book resting in her lap as she ate over it.  
  
Half way through dinner, they heard laughing from the Slytherin table and looked up to see Malfoy and his usual gang finding someone to torment, apparently this time they'd decided to joke about Gryffindor's Quidditch team.  
  
"They must have been desperate after their old keeper went insane, why else would you make one of the Mudblood Granger's your keeper?" Dawn's ears prickled as she overheard Malfoy's voice from the other table.  
  
"He's never going to stop being a dickhead, is he?" Ron said through clenched teeth, waiting for Hermione's reprimand but it didn't come.  
  
"...I saw them practicing earlier this afternoon, and could you get any more pathetic?" Malfoy continued, earning laughs from the Slytherins around him.  
  
"Go to hell, Malfoy." Harry raised his voice, turning around.  
  
Malfoy was about to open his mouth to retort but it snapped shut quickly. The four Gryffindors turned to see Giles standing nearby.  
  
"Is there a problem here?" He asked, turning his head to look at both tables.  
  
There was a mutter of 'No, Professor' amongst the groups as another teacher appeared at Giles' side.  
  
"I hope there's not a problem, Rupert," Snape said in his usual dark and annoyed voice. "Ah, it's Potter and his group again. The amount of disputes that they manage to get themselves into, the Headmaster should be doing more than just taking house points away."  
  
Giles took off his glasses, annoyance clear on his features. "I believe that I can handle this myself, Severus."  
  
"Ah, yes. Always did believe that you and others like you could go off, and do what you wanted, alone." Snape replied, his voice dripping with hostility.  
  
Giles shook his head in disbelief, this was hardly the time to start a debate about and confront childhood grudges. He turned to the groups in the Slytherin and Gryffindor houses.  
  
"10 points of each your houses, there will be no more insults."  
  
Giles pushed past Snape and took his place up at the teacher's table. Snape remained momentarily before gliding off in a huff in the same direction.  
  
The students looked at each other, questioningly. There was obviously a past between the two teachers that had been unclear to them until now. It was also very odd to see two teachers openly bicker like that, although it was usually easy to see if they disliked each other, Professor's Trelawney and McGonagall for example.  
  
Dawn looked over at her sister. "How do you find it so easy to ignore that ferret? Well, most of the time..."  
  
"Because he really isn't worth it," Hermione answered, peering up from her book. "And besides, the things he says aren't true anyway; I saw you at practice today, you were amazing."  
  
Dawn smiled largely and threw her arms around her sister.

* * *

Tara wandered the corridors after dinner, heading back to her room to read over the seventh years' homework and mark it. She tuned out everything that was happening around her: all the noises of the students making their way back to their common rooms.  
  
She had been meaning to seek more advice from Dumbledore about her mysteriously growing seer abilities. Especially since after what had happened in the forest the day they rescued Hagrid, she has somehow known where to go. However, during that time her meaningful dreams had slowly decreased.  
  
She muttered the password into her room and lit up a fire in the small fireplace in the corner of her room. She then immediately got to work in reading what seemed like hundreds and hundreds of scrolls of parchment. The time seemed to drag, and Tara soon found her eyes dropping and her head falling onto the desk.  
  
She was walking the hallways of Hogwarts, it was extremely dark and she couldn't see more than 4 feet ahead of her. There were distant voices echoing through the hall and she found herself instantly attracted towards them.  
  
After walking around the next corner, she saw a narrow slit of light reflecting onto two dark silhouettes. She slowly approached them and as she did so, she could begin to make out what they were saying.  
  
"The Key has sufficiently been hidden, she will never be able to find it." The first person spoke, it was one of the monks who created the Key and Tara could easily understand their language. The two monks were standing on one side of a door, which was open slightly.  
  
"Good, and the false memories that we implanted into the people here are working, it's as if the Key has and is coming to school here. No one will be able to identify it as being any different." The second monk spoke, glancing in through the slit and into the next room.  
  
"We must go." The first one ordered, closing the door and then began walking down the corridor, the second one followed moments later.  
  
Watching them go, Tara took a few more steps to bring herself right up to the door. She fumbled at the handle, pulling the door open enough for her to see through.  
  
Tara could here voices; they were somewhat distorted and quiet. She strained her ear and heard a female voice, followed by laughter. She turned her head back and went to move her eye to the gap...  
  
"Tara!" A voice woke her and caused her to jerk her head up off the desk.  
  
She looked up, it was Giles and he was holding a large stack of scrolls, she noticed that they were the ones that she had corrected and marked.  
  
"I've finished marking the other half of the essays, have you got many left?"  
  
Tara rubbed her eyes; still feeling dazed and confused. "Giles... I had a... dream. The Key, it is a student... a female student!"

* * *

A.N - Must leave it there. :p Whoa, I really did let myself go with this chapter, half the stuff I wrote for this one was very spontaneous, most of the other chapters have been carefully planned. But oh well, I really do hope you enjoyed it. Please, please review with your comments and feedback! - Akalea 


	16. Building a Mystery

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Thanks for all being so patient. Some of you have probably already read the temporary author's note I put up a few days ago but for those who didn't: sorry about taking so long, I have been studying for my final exams for school and things have been hectic.**

**Anyway, thanks to those who have reviewed since last time:**

**Black Cat Gurl – Thanks for reviewing, I'm not sure what I'm going to do with making Tara insane or not but just keep in mind that things are running differently from the show now, so anything could happen wink wink. And to your review from Chapter 14 – I think anyone would freak out if they found out that all these memories that they have aren't real and that they were created...so the answer would have to be yes. As for Willow and Tara, thought I might be interesting and I have something in store for one of them :)**

**iluvglorfindel – Hehe, thanks for reviewing...although it said 'update soon' and it's been such a long time.**

**Elleb3lle – You've obviously already read the last chapter, so you know that Dawn's the new keeper...but that was probably pretty obvious anyway. Hehe. Thanks so much for your comments!! And your comment is so true, Buffy and HP rock.**

**jazzypunker – Hmm, I guess you could say that Anya doesn't have a magical background for Hogwarts because being a vengeance demon is sort of a whole different thing. :)**

**fortunecookies - Hehe, my aim in life is to get people's hopes up and quickly deflate them. :p Thanks so much for reviewing.**

**Anne – You were an avid fan, well I'm just going to have to make you one again grins Thanks for being patient.**

**Victoria87 – Whoa, it sounds like you have had a harder and rougher time than me. Hope everything turns out alright in the end, good luck. Thanks so much for reviewing.**

**Chapter 15 – Building a Mystery **

"Back again, are we all?" Dumbledore questioned, looking around at the people filing into his office. "It does seem like we spend more time in these large meetings, than in class."

"We wouldn't come if it wasn't a matter of high importance, Headmaster." Giles explained briefly.

McGonagall was the first to address the matter, as she took her seat next to Dumbledore's desk. "What is it, Rupert? You've got me particularly curious since it is such a late hour."

Tara cleared her throat quietly, all eyes turned on her. "Well, Professor Dumbledore, you remember a few weeks ago when we had that discussion about those dreams I had been having?" Dumbledore nodded with acknowledgement. "Those dreams seemed so real... s-so vivid, but I have been ignoring them. Until tonight, when I was marking some work and fell asleep, and I had another dream. This time I know it wasn't just any dream, I could tell... it was as if I was a quiet observer, watching an event but not... not really there."

"What happened, Tara?" Buffy encouraged.

"There were two of those monks, like the one you said you'd met a while ago, Buffy. And they were talking about the Key and said that it was disguised as a student here and they were watching over it before they fled. I went to get a glimpse and heard a female voice from the room they were looking into but then Giles woke me up to see if I'd finished reading over the essays." Tara concluded, taking a large breath at the end.

"So are you saying that we are to believe that the Key is a student here, ruling out any of the staff or house elfs working here, and that the Key is female, just from some dream that you had?" Snape asked incredulously

"Ah, I see you are a disbeliever of the fine arts of Divination." Professor Trelawney, who has actually come down from the Divination classroom for a meeting, spoke in her all-knowing, eerie voice. "Of course, many of the witches and wizards who don't possess the Sight always are. However, there are a few, like Professor Maclay here, who have the ability to see the future, or the past, in their dreams... but not many so I wouldn't put this gift aside, like many have done to mine..."

Professor Dumbledore cut her off before she could say anything else, noticing that many of the other teachers were impatiently shifting in their seats. "I must have to agree with Sybill, this does seem genuine. And if so, this narrows our search down significantly."

"The students should not be able to go outside the castle, especially not to Hogsmeade, otherwise they may be in danger, perhaps every outdoor activity should be cancelled." Snape suggested.

"Are you serious?" Buffy inquired, raising her eyebrows. "I can imagine that, we might as well just lock the students in their dorms and cage the windows and feed them occasionally... very 'Flowers in the Attic'."

Most of the Scooby Gang chuckled, most of the other teachers looked confused.

"Don't worry, it's a muggle film." Willow explained.

"Ah yes," Professor Sprout responded. "Those are those things that muggles watch for entertainment... what's it called? A Gellyvision?"

The Scooby Gang just ended up laughing more before Dumbledore intervened.

"What Severus suggested, obviously isn't an option. Christmas is coming and I'm sure the students would be most unhappy if their trips to Hogsmeade are cancelled. Although, I think it would be wise to employ a curfew to stop students wandering after dark, and when they are out of the castle, they must be supervised by a staff member nearby, at all times." Dumbledore finalised, shortly before allowing the teachers and staff to return back to bed.

* * *

"Gee, the teachers are on full alert today." Ginny observed as she sat down for breakfast next to the four older Gryffindors.

Ron turned around to look at the teacher's table. "I overheard the Head Boy talking to his friends, rumour has it that the teachers all had a rather long meeting in the middle of the night."

"Ron, you can't believe everything you here." Hermione stated in a matter-of-factly tone.

Dawn sat with her head resting on one arm, the other pushing the food around on her plate. A small sigh from her caught the attention of the others.

"Got another Quidditch practice today?" Ron inquired.

Dawn nodded slowly. "I guess I am doing alright in practice, but I can't help but feel as though I second best. After all, I wasn't exactly the first choice."

"Look at it this way, Dawn." Harry began. "Obviously your being on the team was meant to be, and for some reason it was fate that the first keeper became...well, insane."

"Yeah. But Hermione, are you sure that Dawn didn't practice any dark magic, to curse people, when you were younger?" Ron joked, earning a smile from Dawn.

"Oops, we better get the Wandless Defence now, Professor Summers told us that we should get there slightly earlier to set up the room." Hermione said enthusiastically, jumping out of her seat.

The other three followed behind Hermione to the Wandless Defence classroom, where Buffy and Willow were already waiting, however none of the other students has arrived yet.

"...I think we should just hold off until Tara has another prophetic dream, I don't think Glory or the Voldy guy have figured much out ye- " The teens overheard as they entered the classroom, but Buffy cut off the sentence when she noticed they has entered.

"Oh, I'm glad some of you remembered to come early!" Willow called out, overlapping the end of Buffy's sentence.

"What was that about Professor Maclay and Voldemort?" Dawn heard Harry whisper to her. Dawn shrugged in response.

"Today... when everyone decides to get here, we're going to show you some moves and some spells that you can use to repel anyone who is coming at you, or already attacking you." Buffy explained to them, she and Willow had decided that it would be particularly useful with Glory roaming around near the school.

* * *

Before they all knew it, a week had passed before their eyes and Christmas was just around the corner. The second, and last Quidditch match until the New Year was about to take place between Gryffindor and Hufflepuff.

Dawn sat nervously in the Gryffindor change rooms, just minutes before the match while Angelina Johnson gave the traditional pep talk. She briefly glanced at her hands, if she bit her nails down anymore, she probably wouldn't have any nails left.

"Come on, Dawn." She heard several of her teammates calling her over, she hadn't realised that they'd finished talking and most had left the room.

"Don't worry, Dawn," George Weasley said, dragging her out of the room. "The worst thing that can happen is that you fall off your broomstick and fall about 20 feet."

Dawn looked horrified at this comment, which earned a pleased look from both the twins.

"Good luck!" The rest of the team, including Harry, reassured her as the doors opened and the Gryffindor team jumped on their brooms and flew out.

As she flew out around the Quidditch Stadium, she could hear Lee Jordan calling out the Gryffindors names. "Captain Angelina Johnson, other chasers Alicia Spinnet and Katie Bell, beaters Fred and George Weasley, seeker Harry Potter and their new keeper Dawn Granger."

* * *

Giles entered staff room, his arms piled with books of all sizes, after just visiting the library. He found it more successful finding the books he was after now that the other teachers knew about the Key, and could assist him. He settled the tower of books onto his desk, which ended up collapsing in a disastrous style.

Just as Giles straightened out his desk and sat down to begin work, a dark shadow lurked nearby. Startled, he turned around to look up into the face of Severus Snape. Giles relaxed, taking off his glasses and cleaning them.

"What? Not going to the Quidditch match today, Rupert?" Snape inquired. "Although, you never really went to any matches while you went here, couldn't handle the fact that you never got on the Quidditch Team."

"Actually, Severus," Giles placed his glasses back on. "I am not going because I was doing some research before anything else happens and we really do have to 'lock' the children up, like your suggestion."

"Well we'd hate to see that happen, Potter and his group wouldn't be able to sneak around the school like their usual nosey selves." Snape responded before walking away.

Giles shook his head and turned around to face the books again, not long before another voice spoke up.

"That guy really has something stuck up his ass and really likes to hold a grudge." Giles recognised this as Buffy's voice.

Giles sighed. "At this point, I won't be able to get any reading done at all. I thought you were going to the Quidditch match."

Buffy paused. "Oh well, I wanted to see what's up and how things are going with this, but you're going to have to tell me on the way to the Quidditch game because I really want to see it."

Giles rubbed his eyes slowly and then turned out the lamp on his desk. "Well, I suppose I have been doing a lot of work lately and the Quidditch game would be a good recreational activity."

Buffy smiled widely and motioned for Giles to start walking. They began down the corridor and could just hear the noise from the Stadium since they weren't far from it.

"So, how are things going?" Buffy asked as they walked along.

"The process of finding out who the monks made the Key into is taking longer than I expected, but with the information we have I've been trying to do some research which will help us fit the pieces of the puzzle together."

As they crossed the grounds towards the Stadium, Giles looked over at Buffy and couldn't interpret the expression on her face. Then she began to grin widely and Giles scrunched his face up in confusion.

"This place really is fun, isn't it?" She stated, rather than questioned.

She continued rambling in an unusual tone. "But those robes aren't very fashionable are they, they don't give you any figure at all."

Giles stopped, gripping Buffy's shoulders to steady her. "Buffy, are you feeling alright? You don't appear to be quite like yourself."

"Well, that's true."

Giles was caught off guard when her face and body slowly changed, turning into a woman with curly blonde hair and a red dress. From Buffy's descriptions he could easily identify this woman as Glory.

He attempted to stand back, but with one quick grip of his left arm, he was unable to walk or run away.

"Well I must say that I thought the Slayer would have a smarter Watcher, but luckily for me, you will be most useful. I have a feeling that I will be getting my Key very soon."

Glory produced an item that appeared to be a watch. Giles figured out that the item was a Portkey seconds before two disappeared from the grounds of Hogwarts.

* * *

**A.N – Dun dun dun!!! Yay, a new chapter! I really hope that you like it and that is it long enough, well I promise another chapter soon, maybe in a few days but maybe in more like a week and a bit. Please review, it lights up my day!! – Akalea :)**


	17. Into the Fire

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Well I'm back… again; at least this wait wasn't as long as the last one… I always keep thinking "Ooh I'm going to write another chapter" but it takes me longer than I expected. But I'm still really enjoying writing this story with many more twists and ideas up my sleeve, just hang in there. :)**

**Also, some of you may have missed the last chapter when I replaced the author's note with it and the story didn't go back up to the top of the update list. Oh well.**

**Thanks to my one new reviewer: _fortunecookies_ – I had to put it at a cliff hanger to make it more interesting, even if it takes a while for me to get the next part done evil grin. But thanks for the review. :)**

**And also many more thanks to my beta-reader, Shymk – it's always great to talk ideas over with you.**

* * *

**Chapter 16 – Into the Fire**

The Quaffle was down the other end of the stadium and Dawn found herself losing focus on the game for a moment, in order to relax her nerves. The weather wasn't the best, considering it was winter, nevertheless Dawn figured that almost the entire school had dragged themselves out to watch the game.

Well, almost everyone. Dawn spotted two silhouettes, out through two of the grandstands. They were standing on the lawn in the middle of the school grounds. She could tell that one person was female with long blonde hair, except it appeared that she was restraining the other person.

The excited tone of Lee Jordan's voice brought her back to the game as she realised that a Hufflepuff chaser was heading straight towards the Gryffindor goals. She quickly forgot about what had been distracting her moments earlier.

With the good timing of Harry, the Gryffindor managed win the game by catching the snitch when Hufflepuff were outscoring them. The entire team, and house celebrated the first victory of the school year for the Gryffindor house. Dawn was having trouble keeping up with all the people that came and spoke to her.

"Great game, Granger," Fred and George came over, patting her on the back. "Looks like Hufflepuff have done some serious recruiting but you blocked those quaffles all the same."

Dawn muttered her thanks as Angelina came running over to her with Alicia and Katie, all three enveloping her in a hug. She had some trouble finding air.

"Uh, thanks but I really need to breathe…" Dawn's muffled voice came out from the group hug.

* * *

"That's weird." Willow said to herself as she visited Giles' desk later that evening. 

All his books and work were piled up into neat sections; he had clearly finished whatever he was doing, for the time being. But another thought crossed the redhead's mind: she hadn't seen him at dinner; there was a gap at the table where he usually sat.

"Something wrong, Will?" Xander asked, appearing behind her suddenly.

She simply shrugged in response. Giles was probably off doing more research for the whole Glory saga and was getting carried away, even though he said he was going to watch the Quidditch match earlier. She decided that she would mention something to Dumbledore in the morning if she still hadn't seen him around.

Xander thought nothing of her passive mood and continued to talk. "I know we went shopping a while ago… but I'm not sure if I should go through with it."

"Wow, I've never seen you worry this much," Xander had been going to her for advice a lot in the past couple of months, so Willow put on her reassuring voice once again. "But these are just some jitters, you'll get over them and just find the right time… Carpe Diem."

Xander laughed out loud. "Now you're working the Latin, what is it with this place and Latin? I can only speak Pig-Latin."

"Ownay etlay suay ogay otay edbay." Willow said, which received a playful punch in the arm from Xander as they wandered off to their rooms.

* * *

The following cold, mid-December morning saw the students and staff being asked to congregate in the Great Hall together. As during most gatherings similar to this, the students and some of the staff looked puzzled as to the occasion. 

Dumbledore took his place at the centre of the long teachers table and motioned for everyone to sit down, which looked very similar to a muggle courtroom when the judge arrived.

"Once again I have the unfortunate duty of delivering some terrible news, however, I will get straight to the point," He began, rubbing his hands together. "Professor Giles has been missing since early yesterday afternoon. The Ministry has been unsuccessful in tracing his whereabouts, however things aren't looking good. Professor Maclay will be taking full control of Defence Against the Dark Arts classes for the time being."

Students whispered with shock to each other about this latest development, Dumbledore let them go for a minute before silencing them once more.

"Since we do not have any details regarding the disappearance of Professor Giles, we urge any students or staff members, who may have noticed or saw something that could be related, to speak to either myself or Professor McGonagall." Dumbledore paused before changing subjects. "Now, on a lighter note – I know it will be hard to focus with the excitement of the holiday season, however please continue to work hard this last week before we spend Christmas with our families. Now, eat up."

While the other students chattered away excitedly with their housemates, Dawn sat there biting her lip, while deep in thought.

"You haven't touched your breakfast." Hermione pointed out in a motherly tone, breaking Dawn out of her reverie. "What are you thinking about?"

"I think I may have seen something yesterday," Dawn said slowly, uncertainty coming in through her voice. "During the Quidditch match, my concentration wandered for a moment and…"

Ron interrupted her, with an incredulous tone. "Your concentration wandered… during a Quidditch match? Is that even possible-"

Now it was Harry's turn to interrupt by putting his hand on Ron's shoulder. "Down boy… I don't think that was Dawn's point."

"I think I may have seen Professor Giles before he mysteriously disappeared." Dawn quickly explained before jumping up from the table, leaving the other three sitting there with confused looks for a moment, before they followed her up to Professor Dumbledore.

Dawn quickly explained the reason for her sudden rushing to Dumbledore before he suggested they go to his office to discuss, inviting Buffy to join them.

"So, what is it you know, Miss Granger?" Dumbledore asked, turning to look at Dawn as they all took a seat, Buffy simply stood next to Dumbledore at his desk.

Dawn began to explain. "During the Quidditch match, I noticed two people standing over on the lawn outside the stadium. The odd thing was that one person appeared to be struggling from the other. Of course I can't say for sure, but I think that the person struggling was Professor Giles… I didn't recognise the person to be him at first, but with his mysterious disappearance, it tends to make a lot of sense."

Both Buffy and Dumbledore frowned at the same time at this news.

"Who was the other person you saw though?" Buffy questioned in an interrogative tone.

Dawn shrugged. "I couldn't see her face obviously, but I don't think I recognised her. All I could tell was that she had quite long blonde hair, which may have been curly."

Dumbledore kept his poker face; he must have had a lot of practice over the years. Buffy, however, thumped the desk and muttered 'Glory' under her breath. The desk gave a large crack, the corner piece breaking off.

"Sorry…" Buffy pleaded, picking up the piece of Dumbledore's desk. "Giles is almost like a father to me, I really do hope that he's alright and that we find him soon."

* * *

Giles lifted his head groggily, looking around at his new surroundings. He tried to move but found he was magically restrained and could only move his head around. 

"Ah, look who's finally awake!" He snapped his head around to see Glory standing in the room, looking like Christmas had come slightly early.

Giles blinked a few times, attempting to get the pain in his head to cease without much luck. "What, no Voldemort? Are you stuck doing all his dirty work?"

Glory laughed. "I wouldn't say it's dirty work, after all… it's my key first. Anyway, it was him who provided me with the Polyjuice Potion in order to take the very unfashionable form of your Slayer."

"Polyjuice potion? Wouldn't that require the use of a hair or something of Buffy's?"

"Well, you know me, I would never dream of getting caught in the same thing twice… all I had to do is take a little trip in my closet to find the outfit that I fought the Slayer in and find a hair." Glory paused for a moment. "Hey! Stop distracting me, Watcher! I should be the one asking the questions!"

Glory walked across the room, advancing on the corner where Giles was restrained. Glory grabbed the collar of Giles' robes tightly, looking him straight in the eye.

"Now, you've been so helpful to me so far… I don't know why I didn't think that the monks would make the Key into a person. Please tell me all that information you've got stored in that little brain of yours." Glory pleaded.

"Alright," Giles began, his voice slightly strained by the pull of his collar. "One plus one equals two, the sky is blue, snakes are reptiles-"

He was cut off from his babbling as Glory dropped him back onto the floor and drove a strong punch directly into his face. Giles fell back, momentarily feeling the full extent of the pain, before he began to laugh.

Glory screwed her face up with sheer frustration and anger. "Tell me who my key is, or else I'm going to have to get nasty."

Silence followed her demand, after a moment, Glory stamped her black stiletto heel on the floor.

"Right then, I was hoping that you would be useful… but like a typical mortal we're going to have to do this the hard way."

Glory summoned a pair of her minions into the room, the entered by practically crawling in front of her. Giles vaguely heard her bark some orders at them, while his head spun wildly. Shortly after, the two demons returned, each carrying the handle of a large, bubbling cauldron.

"Well, this truth potion will hopefully get him talking and then I'll enjoy disposing of him." She told her minions. "Now scram!"

* * *

Another day of searching and worrying had passed, and Buffy found herself utterly exhausted. Although they all had to take their classes all day, her mind was still racing with thoughts of what Giles could be going through at that very moment. 

She engaged in a long discussion with Willow and Tara on the way back from their final class for the day.

"I'm worried too, Buffy, but for now, there's nothing we can do but let the Ministry do their jobs." Willow pointed out.

Buffy nodded and looked at Tara. "Have you had any of those weird premonition-like dreams lately?"

Tara hesitantly shook her head. "Sorry, Buffy. I wish I did too."

Buffy sighed in response. "So did it go alright in Defence Against the Dark Arts, on your own?"

"I think so. But of course all of the kids were trying to find out more information about Giles' disappearance."

At that moment, a small house-elf appeared at their feet wearing one of their shabby outfits with the Hogwarts crest adorned on it.

The house-elf cleared its throat. "I is apologising, Misses… Professor Misses. Professor Dumbledore has sent I on a mission to find all Professors and give them a message."

"What's up?" Willow asked the house-elf.

"Well, Professor Miss Rosenburg, Professor Dumbledore wishes for all Professors to meet immediately with him in the Hospital Wing with Madam Pomfrey."

"Thank you." Buffy dismissed the elf before turning her two friends. "What do you think is going on? Do you think they've found Giles?"

"I don't know, but let's not wait to find out." Willow replied and began to rush down the corridor.

After weaving through the castle they entered the Hospital Wing to find the other Staff members, including Xander and Anya, standing in the foyer area.

Professor Dumbledore peered around from behind the curtains barricading around one of the hospital beds.

"Please all come around here." He requested, disappearing behind the curtain again.

They all hurried around to the bed, Buffy and the Scooby Gang pushed through, in front of the other Hogwarts staff, but did not like the sight that they were greeted by.

Rupert Giles was lying on the bed, covered in the cuts and bruises, and the worst part was that he appeared to be speaking complete nonsense.

* * *

**A.N – I think I need to be submitted into Cliffhangers anonymous, I just couldn't help myself!! I sure hope you really enjoyed this intense chapter; everything's building up! Please don't forget to review with any comments you may have! Thanks – Akalea :)**


	18. Eye of the Storm

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Well, another chapter done and this time not a very long wait… aren't you happy? :) Wow, it's so hard to believe that I've written 17 chapters!! I've never written anything this long and I'm not really sure how long this story is going to be but I know I've still got a lot of chapters in me.**

**Anyway, I'll probably get another chapter or 2 before Christmas (hopefully).**

**Once again, I feel so much gratitude towards the people who have reviewed this story:**

**_Pay-day1999_ – hehe, yeah… I guess I tend to like to underestimate the intelligence of the reader but it was pretty obvious. Thank you so much for being such a dedicated reviewer – at least I know that a small selection of people have stuck with me over the long breaks.**

**_Fortunecookies_ – hehe, thanks. Don't worry; I really have no intention of doing that… I really hate it when that happens. **

* * *

**Chapter 17 – Eye of the Storm**

Buffy and the other Hogwarts staff were still adjusting to the shock of the whole situation, that Giles was the latest to have fallen victim to Glory's brain-sucking. The blonde slayer felt a few tears form at the back of her eyes.

"I knew you all would have wanted to see him," Madam Pomfrey broke the silence. "But now I have a lot of work cut out for me and I must ask you all to leave."

Buffy had barely heard Madam Pomfrey's words; she was lost deep in thought. "I always turn to Giles for reassurance and advice… what will I do now? I'm gonna have to take over Giles' role of leading the whole 'Key' investigation." She thought with panic.

"Please come out of the Hospital Wing, Buffy," Dumbledore suggested, holding Buffy's shoulders. "We must let Poppy do her work."

"Will there be anything that she can do for Giles?" Anya queried for behind.

"She is an excellent healer and will be able to repair all of his bruises and cuts, however it will take a lot more skill and hard work to discover how to fix the damage Glory has done to not only Rupert, but the other students."

Willow entered the conversation. "I've got a heap of books that I can look through, perhaps I might find something to assist in Madam Pomfrey's work."

"It's definitely worth a try." Buffy responded, still feeling like a young girl lost in a large and thick forest.

"Well then, I suggest we all try and leave Poppy to her work for now, and go and have some dinner in the Great hall, we really don't want to miss out on that delightful Sticky Date Pudding I heard the house-elves were cooking, earlier today." Dumbledore finished the conversation, trying to get their minds on something happier.

* * *

Although Giles' condition was to be kept on a low profile, naturally the information leaked around the school and many of the students were shaken by this latest attack.

"It really does make me wonder what is going on around the school at the moment." Hermione expressed as they completed homework next to the fireplace in their common room.

"And why did they specifically choose Professor Giles?" Harry added, easily losing focus from his potions essay.

"Someone, perhaps V-Voldemort," Ron yelped when Hermione mentioned his name. "Is obviously planning something and perhaps Professor Giles had some information that he wanted."

"Well I think Voldemort got some of the information he was after, I think he's very happy at the moment." Harry pointed out, rubbing his scar.

"You know, that still doesn't lose its freakiness." Ron commented to Harry, his quill and essay tossed aside for now.

Fred, George and Ginny interrupted the conversation by joining them on the couches by the fireplace. Ginny held a piece of parchment, which appeared to be a letter, in her hand.

"Is that a letter from mum and dad, Gin?" Ron asked, snatching the parchment off his sister.

Ginny nodded "Some owl delivered it this morning."

Fred briefly explained the letter in a quite voice. "They've heard about what's been happening at school lately and decided that it's probably safer if we spend Christmas with the Order at Grimmauld Place."

"And apparently the Order has been really busy with their secret business lately." George took over. "Fred and I have been perfecting the Extendable Ears, so hopefully we'll be able to listen in on their 'classified' meetings."

Hermione gave her head a small disapproving shake, however Dawn could tell that inside she was just as curious but she didn't want to show it.

"What are we going to do, Hermione?" Dawn asked her sister, they had spent some time with the Order at the beginning of the year and it had been some time since they'd seen their parents.

"We can tell them that we are spending Christmas at Hogwarts with Harry, Ginny and Ron." Hermione suggested.

"And I'm sure Dumbledore will be able to understand that things aren't safe at the moment and he could back us up." Dawn added.

"That's probably the best thing, Dawn. We can't tell them about what's been happening or they'll never let us return to Hogwarts again."

Dawn nodded in agreement, while Ginny took the letter back off Ron.

"Great, I'll write back to mum and dad and give them the message. Mum'll be very happy and relieved when she hears the news."

There was a small silence, Dawn glanced back down at her essay, she was going nowhere fast with it. So she stuffed all her work back into her bag.

"It's almost Christmas, let's forget about OWLs for now and go out to the snow. Snowball wars – girls against boys." Dawn suggested hopefully, standing up while doing so.

Everyone was keen for the idea, including Hermione, so they returned all their work and things to the dormitories.

"We're going to absolutely kick your butts!" Ginny cried out to Harry, Ron, Fred and George as they raced out of the common room and through the Portrait Hole.

* * *

Anya was assisting Hagrid with correcting the written work for the fifth-year Care of Magical Creatures class, however the class was rarely assigned written work, so there wasn't much of it to correct.

"Gee, this person didn't write much." Anya commented, holding up a short piece of parchment from one of the Gryffindors.

She turned the parchment over to see if anything was written on the back and let out a large yelp, also dropping the parchment in the process.

"What is it?" Hagrid wondered, picking it up to see for himself.

Hagrid frowned; there were only a few drawings and sketches that the student must have done when they were bored. What was so bad about that?

"Who would want to draw a picture of that?" Anya called out with horror, pointing to a sketch of a rabbit.

Hagrid chuckled in return. He had first discovered Anya's phobia during one of the first lessons that she had begun to assist with, he had presented the class with a creature that had looked very similar to a rabbit. Anya had run away at the first sight of them.

At that moment, Xander appeared at the doorway of Hagrid's cabin. He saw the look on Anya's face and immediately said "bunnies", Hagrid nodded in confirmation.

"It's almost time to go up to the Great Hall for dinner, thought I might come and steal Anya away." Xander explained and she appeared to be happy to desert the work for the day.

As they walked along, Xander kept his hands stuffed in his pockets for warmth and Anya clung around his right arm. She'd forgotten her gloves and left them up in her room, earlier that day.

"Can we share a pocket?" Anya asked with a smile, sticking one of her hands into his pocket before he could protest.

Xander looked worried as Anya quickly took her hand back out of his pocket, holding a box in her hand.

"What's this?" Anya asked oblivious to Xander's discomfort as she opened up the box.

She was quickly rendered speechless as she gazed upon a very simple but elegant gold diamond ring.

"Willow helped me choose it a month or two ago… I've been waiting for the right time," He explained. "And I guess now's as good a time as any. So…"

After admiring the ring, Anya looked up at him suspiciously. "Are you sure now isn't just a good time because I could probably end up all cuckoo like Giles, and then you'll never have to commit, and then you're just making me happy until then. Oh, and are you sure that, like when most people get married, we won't get bored with the sex and that you won't have problems in that department when-"

"Anya!" Xander cut off Anya's babbling, giving her an anticipating look.

"Well, you never know! Ever since I became human I've noticed that you all tend to do strange things." Anya eyed the ring, trying to determine the value. "The ring does look valuable, I better keep it safe on my finger... so yes!"

Xander looked like a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders as he helped Anya put the ring on, and then gave her a long kiss.

* * *

The remaining few days, before nearly all of the students went home for Christmas, went by almost in the blink of an eye. All the students couldn't wait to pack, so they all spent the Friday night putting as much as they could into their trunks.

Lavender and Parvati were chatting excitedly whilst packing up in the fifth-year girls dorm. Dawn watched in amazement as she compared their 'just throw it in' philosophy compared with Hermione's 'fold and separate into special piles'.

"So, what are you two doing for the holidays?" Lavender quizzed Dawn and Hermione, looking up from her packing.

Dawn shrugged. "Nothing much, we were just going to spend the time at the Weasley's." She knew that they could definitely not mention the Order of the Phoenix and hoped that these different stories didn't clash at any stage.

"Is _Harry_ going to be there?" Parvati teased.

"Huh? I guess so." Dawn decided to play ignorant to Parvati's implications, rather than feed their desire for gossip.

"More importantly you'll be there with Ron." Lavender also teased, looking straight at Hermione.

Hermione appeared to be on guard. "Why do I feel like you two are trying to bait us into some gossip you can pass from house to house? The last thing I need is giving Malfoy something else to bring up every time he sees us… whether it's true or not." She hesitated on the last part.

Dawn decided to launch a pillow in the direction of their two other roommates, hitting Lavender directly in the face. This commenced a pillow war between the four until they all decided to go to sleep.

It wasn't long before Dawn was going through the ritual of being woken up by her sister. They got ready and had to take their trunks down to the Hogwarts Express, not before meeting up with the Weasley's and Harry. If they were to make things appear normal, they had to catch the Hogwarts Express and then use a Portkey to get to Grimmauld Place.

As planned, they met Mr and Mrs Weasley at Kings Cross Station and walked to a secure location before using a Portkey in the shape of a plug (much to Mr Weasley's delight) to transport the rather large group.

* * *

"So, what's using this ploo powder like?" Buffy asked as the Scoobies gathered in Dumbledore's Office.

"That's Floo powder," Dumbledore corrected. "And all you have to do is take some of the powder, step into the fireplace and state the name of the place you wish to go, in this case – 12 Grimmauld Place. And it is a bit disorientating the first time… oh and make sure you speak clearly, when I was in my youth I accidentally ended up around the other side of the world in the middle of a war zone with several attempts on my life, but never mind that…"

Dumbledore held out the container of Floo powder out to Buffy, who was going to be the first to try this very new way of travelling for them. She appeared to be slightly unsettled at Dumbledore's comment but reluctantly took the powder.

Before entering the fireplace, Buffy turned around to ask Dumbledore a question. "Are you sure that Giles will be fine here during Christmas time? I really don't feel good about abandoning him."

"Yes, it is unfortunate that he is in his current situation during Christmas, however it is important that he remain in the care of Poppy and so he can also be observed by members from St. Mungo's." Dumbledore reassured.

She hesitated before entering the fireplace, still clutching the floo powder in her hand.

"Twelve Grimmauld Place!" Buffy shouted and she felt as if she was being spun around and around on one of those children's playground toys.

* * *

**A.N – Well, I think I'll leave it there… I think it might be slightly shorter than my last chapter, but I think you are all pleased that you didn't have to wait months for this. Until I post again, please keep the reviews coming, I haven't been getting as much feedback lately – Akalea :)**


	19. Real to Me

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Hello again! I didn't get around to posting another chapter before Christmas, things were completely crazy… nevertheless, I hope you all had a great Christmas and a fun New Year. Oh and by the way, my beta reader will be away for two weeks, so it'll give me plenty of chance to write 1 or 2 more chapters during that time period.**

**Not one review from the last chapter, I was somewhat disappointed but you can't discourage me that easily! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 18 – Real to Me**

Twelve Grimmauld Place wasn't at all what the Scooby Gang had envisioned, they had expected the headquarters of the Order to be less dark and dingy, and more hospitable. Nevertheless, they had all adapted and settled into rooms, but of course some had to share.

Mrs. Weasley greeted the newcomers in her usual friendly, welcoming way. The Scoobies all introduced themselves in return.

"Hi, I don't know if…" Tara began when it was her turn, however she was quickly interrupted.

"Tara, dear, how are you?" Mrs. Weasley greeted with a quick hug, having remembered being introduced to her through Charlie when they were at school together.

After the introductions, the first day that they had spent in the house was much quieter than expected. Many members of the Order were off on very important business, leaving the Scoobies, the children and Mrs. Weasley.

"Well this is exciting, isn't it?" Ron asked sarcastically to his siblings and friends. "Believe it or not, I'm very tempted to start doing some homework."

"You _must_ be really bored then." Hermione retorted with exasperation, not looking up from the book in her hands.

The group of young Gryffindors sat in the kitchen playing Exploding Snap, or reading in Hermione's case.

"Well it's almost Christmas, Ron," Mrs. Weasley explained in a patient voice. "By then most of the Order will probably be back here to spend Christmas with each other and there will be more happening around here."

"I hope that doesn't include Snape." George added with a shudder.

"George! Firstly, that should be Professor Snape to you and secondly, I'd expect that all of you would treat all of the Order members, staying over Christmas, with respect and maturity. Oh and stay away from Mundungus this time, he seems to encourage your misbehaviour." She lectured in return, the Weasley children muttered acknowledgement before returning to their Exploding Snap game.

* * *

One early evening, Buffy was practicing some kicks and punches at her wardrobe, in the room that she was sharing with Willow and Tara, while Xander and Anya were sharing another room down the hall.

"Hey Buff, Will, Tara," Xander greeted with a warm smile. "Molly says that there is some dinner for all of us down stairs."

The other three followed Xander and Anya towards the kitchen; Xander spoke with Buffy on the way downstairs.

"Were you trying to keep in shape upstairs, because I'm pretty sure that the wardrobe didn't do anything to you." He joked.

"Funny," Buffy simply stated and then added while they were entering the kitchen. "Well I've got to keep in shape, these days it's only the classes that give me a chance to do my thing, except it still isn't anything like being back at Sunnydale."

The people already there had picked up on the conversation. Ginny looked up from her dinner plate. "You don't have many chances to tell us stories in class, so please tell us what things are like in Sunnydale."

"Compared to Sunnydale, Hogwarts is like a giant carnival." Xander joked.

"Sunnydale is on the mouth of hell, I don't think we've mentioned that before, and so it's like an evil magnet." Willow explained, serving up her plate while doing so.

"So does that mean you're evil?" Ron asked curiously, as he chewed on a piece of broccoli, in which he earned a hit on the arm from Mrs. Weasley.

The Scoobies all chuckled in response and took their plates to sit at the table amongst the youngsters and Mrs. Weasley.

"Sunnydale sounds like such a dangerous place, how can you live there?" Dawn asked.

"Someone has to maintain the balance between good and evil," Buffy said with a smile. "Unfortunately fate selected us."

Hermione looked down the table at Buffy. "Then who's doing that right at this very moment?"

"Oh, a couple of vampires – Angel and Spike." Buffy said casually, then noticing the confused and worried looks from around the table.

"Angel and Spike… aren't they Angelus and Spike the Bloody, known notoriously for the havoc they caused a couple of centuries ago? We learnt about them in Defence Against the Dark Arts last month!" Hermione recalled alarmingly.

"Don't worry, it's okay, Buffy used to bonk one of them and the other one has a chip in his head." Anya explained briefly, causing them to send more confused looks down the table at Buffy.

Buffy held her hands out in front of her innocently. "It's a long story…"

The chatting went on for several hours after dinner, the Sunnydale group and the Hogwarts group each having many stories to tell the other. Just as the younger ones began to yawn, an owl appeared in the kitchen.

Mrs. Weasley walked over to receive the message, reading it to herself before explaining to the rest of the room. "It's from Mr. Weasley, he's just informing us that things have calmed down, more or less, and we should expect many of the Order members here tomorrow morning. There will be many introductions in order, some won't be necessary."

After the last comment, she immediately shooed all the children upstairs to bed.

* * *

It wasn't long before, on the morning of Christmas Eve that they woke up to the sound of many people arriving downstairs. Quickly getting dressed and somewhat presentable, they all surfaced out of their rooms to meet the newcomers.

Buffy came down the stairs to see Mrs. Weasley talking to a man with light brown hair that had some slight grey through it. The both turned around and Buffy drew closer.

"Good morning, Buffy," Mrs. Weasley began. "This is Remus Lupin, obviously one of the Order members."

"Hi, I'm Buffy Summers." Buffy introduced, shaking hands with Lupin.

Rubbing his hand after the handshake, Remus spoke up. "Ah, yes, you must be the Slayer. Nice to finally meet you."

Buffy had an odd feeling, something that she couldn't place about the man she was just introduced to and the odd feeling seemed quite familiar to her. "Uh, I don't mean to be rude but…"

"Yes, I'm a werewolf." Remus declared openly, expecting the Slayer to bring that up.

Buffy decided to leave it at that and began a different conversation with Mrs. Weasley and Lupin, in which Willow joined in. Half way through their conversation, Harry ran past them and towards a tall, dark-haired man.

"Sirius!" Harry called out, running over to hug the man.

"Who's that?" Willow questioned.

"That's Sirius Black, Harry's godfather. I was in Gryffindor with Sirius and James – Harry's father." Remus explained.

Willow nodded in understanding and turned to say to Buffy. "It's kinda hard to not feel left out, with all these people here who all know each other and have history."

There was a knock at the front door. Tara, who was deep in conversation with Mr. Weasley and Dumbledore nearby, went to answer it. She opened the door to reveal a redheaded man standing on the doorstep.

"Charlie?" Tara asked, slightly unsure but recognising the man.

He had a shocked but pleasantly surprised look on his face. "Tara! Wow, after all these years?"

The pair briefly hugged as he stepped into the entrance area of the house.

"So, what on earth brings you here?" He asked. "I don't think I've seen you since not long after the seventh year when you went back to America."

"Well, I was living in Sunnydale when I met Buffy, the Slayer… we were all invited here by Dumbledore, because of the current situation, and I was offered a Defence Against the Dark Arts teaching job."

"Congratulations." He said as they moved back over to talk to his father and Dumbledore.

* * *

Dawn, Harry and Ginny sat on the floor of the girls' room eating an assortment of Honeydukes sweets and just talking. The others had gone for a walk to get some fresh air and actual daylight with Xander and Anya. The three of them, however, just felt like lounging around the house all day after all the Order members had arrived.

"I don't think you want to try that-" Ginny began as Dawn picked up a new creation of Honeydukes, 'Fire Fizzlers'.

Dawn felt her whole mouth go on fire as she swallowed it. She began jumping up and down, and waving her arms around, the other two laughed at her behaviour.

"I need a drink." Dawn choked out, and raced out of the room towards the kitchen.

She had drunken about four glasses of water before she felt a lot better and headed up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, a whole lot of footsteps and muffled voices got her attention. She peered back down the stairs and saw the Order members all convening together in the kitchen.

"Is it safe for a meeting at the moment, where are all the children?" She heard Snape's voice.

"Yes, Severus," Dumbledore reassured. "Most of them have gone out for a walk, some are upstairs and we'll take the necessary precautions."

Dawn had immediately forgotten about her sore throat. "I bet they don't know about the new models of the Extendable Ears yet though." She thought, not being able to resist the temptation to eavesdrop, it was lucky that Hermione wasn't there to talk them out of it.

Although feeling rude for going through Fred and George's things, she quickly found the Extendable Ears and raced back to her room. Ginny and Harry looked up at her as she entered.

"Is your throat burning anymore?" Harry inquired as she walked in.

"It's fine… anyway, here's our opportunity to test out these." She answered, holding up the contents of her hands.

Ginny stood up. "So, are they having an official Order meeting now?"

She nodded. "Yep, in the kitchen… it looked important, probably to do with all the secrecy lately."

It didn't take long for Harry and Ginny to follow her down the stairs and to outside the kitchen door. They couldn't hear anything through the door without the Extendable Ears; someone had obviously cast a silencing charm around the room to stop anyone from eavesdropping outside the room.

It wasn't too difficult, however, to hear the large group in discussion once they used the Extendable Ears.

"So, let me get this straight," They could hear Tonks say. "This 'Key' is that very powerful and that You-Know-Who is after, was actually made into a female student at Hogwarts. You've been searching for the right person, why can't you just ask people until you find the right person?"

"Because around six months ago, the monks made it so that the girl doesn't know that she is the Key, as far as she knows, she has just lived a normal full life up until this point." Buffy explained.

"Are there any things that might be any indication of who the Key is? They have a lot of power… that has got to be something, surely there would be special or weird occurrences around it." Arthur Weasley suggested.

"Before Glory kidnapped Giles, he seemed to think that there would be something in a book somewhere because the Key was so ancient. But Anya and I practically borrowed every book in the library and nothing…" Xander added.

Dawn leant back from the door, putting her Extendable Ear down. Harry and Ginny looked at her, she appeared to be in deep thought.

Dawn had a sudden brainwave, remembering back to near the beginning of the school year:

_"Anyway," Xander continued. "If there's any information you need - all you have to do is ask Anya here."_

_Xander went to pick up the books he'd settled down, accidentally knocking down the pile with his left hand and they fell onto the floor with loud thuds._

_"Oops, clumsy me!" He cried out as he and Anya bent down to retrieve the books._

_They both stood up with the books in their arms and turned to say one last thing to Dawn._

_"Feel free to come by the Staff Room to find me for the information later on, we need to get back there now." Anya told her before she and Xander whisked away._

_Dawn collected up her things; she'd decided to go back to the Gryffindor Common Room to work on her Potions essay there. When she rose from the table, her foot collided with something on the floor. She bent down to see what it was and discovered a book that must have fallen under the table with all those other books. She added it to her pile and went on her way._

Before the other two could say anything, she had disappeared upstairs in a high-speed dash. Dawn ran directly for her trunk, hoping to find what she had stashed down at the bottom of her trunk several months ago.

"Ah ha!" She cried with success, producing the dark green coloured book, still sitting on the floor.

As soon as her hands had opened the book, she felt strange, like a wind was blowing around the room. She looked around and nothing appeared to have changed though. Shrugging to herself, she gazed down at the book and quickly dropped it onto the floor. All the words appeared to be glowing a green colour, however they stopped when she had dropped the book. Picking up the book again, the words began to glow again.

Panic rose up in her. "What just happened?" She said to herself.

At that moment, something flickered in her mind, an incident that had occurred not long before the school year had started. She had been walking the streets of London with her family when a strange man had stopped her and said that she was "a beautiful green light".

She then thought about what she had her downstairs; they said the Key was a girl, was created around six months ago but still had the memories of a life… all the strange occurrences began happening to her around six months ago. Firstly, just before the school year started, a person in the street had called her a beautiful green light, then Trelawney's and the stranger at Hogsmeade's words - "You don't belong here". And not to mention the snake incident, it completely ignored Hermione and went for her, like it was attracted towards her for some reason.

"Dawn, so this is where you got to." Harry appeared at the door. "What book have you got there?"

"Harry, read this book… see if anything happens." Dawn said, standing up and handing him the book.

He opened it and looked at the pages. "It just looks like a book to me."

"But… but it was glowing before, I swear…" She trailed off taking the book back off him and looking at it again, although this time nothing happened when she read it.

"Are you alright?" Harry was confused. "What's in that book, anyway?"

"It has information about the Key, while I was at the library Xander dropped it." Dawn explained, the Scoobies insisting that they call them all by first name while they weren't at school.

"The Key? So do you think you know who this key the keep talking about is?"

"I know you're going to think I'm crazy… but I think I'm the Key." She said quietly, sitting down on the floor with her legs curled up to her chest.

"What?" Harry said disbelievingly. "You think that you're the Key? But you can't be, I remember back in the first year-"

"Think about it, Harry." She interrupted. "They said that those monks gave the Key memories, so that they would believe that they are just a normal person. And all these strange things have been happening to me for about the last six months. I tried to ignore all the clues but I… please just trust me on this one."

Harry sighed, sitting down on the floor next to her. "Okay… so you're the Key, so what does that mean now?"

She put her hand up to her face. "Merlin! I hadn't even thought of that yet… it means that Voldemort is after me and if he finds out that I'm the Key then he'll stop at nothing to get to me. It means that I've only been alive for like six months… Oh, Merlin, it means that Hermione isn't even my sister; the people I thought that were my family aren't really my family. It means-"

Dawn had begun to panic, tears of frustration and confusion gathered in her eyes. Harry took her by the shoulders. "Dawn, calm down… I know this is huge but you can't panic on me."

She hung her head, taking deep breaths and spoke softly. "I don't think I can handle this, Harry… this means that I'm not real, I've only been alive for six months."

Harry appeared to be extremely distressed by her sorrow, but tried to keep a calm head.

"Dawn, even though you may have been created six months ago, we all still have the memories… even if they are all created by these monks they're still a part of who you are. You exist now, you're real to everyone who's met you… and you're real to me." Harry comforted, saying the last part gently.

Dawn turned to look up at him; there was a silence as his words echoed in her head. Even with tears running down her cheeks she felt herself begin to lean in towards him and he did the same. Their lips met for a short kiss and as the both retreated back, Dawn felt a calmness wash over her.

After a brief awkward moment, Harry finally spoke up again. "So, what do we do now?"

"I can't tell anyone, not right now… I have to get used to the idea myself."

* * *

**A.N – So now she knows! Well that is most probably my longest chapter yet… I really got into towards the end and before I knew it, I had written several more pages! If there's a time to review, please do it now for this big chapter, I really want to know your thoughts! Thanks – Akalea :)**


	20. Should Never Be Revealed

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Hello there, back again… as I had already mentioned, my beta reader was away for two weeks so I chose to wait rather than post unbeta'd.**

**Now for those reviews:**

**Pay-day1999 – I'm glad you like the way I've down the whole Dawn thing. I'm going to be a pain in the arse and draw out the Scoobies finding out for another few chapters. Hehe. Thanks so much for your review!!**

**Darkvampirewitch – Thanks! And also thanks for the wise words, great advice! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 19 – Should Never Be Revealed**

Ginny recovered to two sets of Extendable Ears that had been left by Dawn and Harry, she didn't want any of the Order members finding them or Fred and George finding out that they'd taken them, for that matter.

"Where are they?" Ginny thought to herself, looking up the stairs.

After returning the ears to Fred and George's room, she went in search of the other two Gryffindors. She went to the first place that came to mind, and was successful – she could hear their muffled voices through the door.

She slightly opened the door, feeling a twinge of guilt for sneaking up and eavesdropping their conversation. She peered through the gap and could see the pair of them sitting on the floor, deep in a debate about something.

"If no-one else knows but us for now, then I won't be in any danger… please don't say anything." She could hear Dawn plead.

There was a silence, she assumed that Harry had nodded in agreement but she tried to open the door slightly further so that she could see more. One of the hinges of the door squeaked, so she had no choice but to push the door open and pretend she was just coming in now.

"There you both are, I was wondering what happened when you were gone for so long. What were you doing?" She asked, as their heads snapped in her direction.

"Oh," Dawn began, standing up and Harry also followed her action. "We were just talking about… Christmas, nothing much really."

Ginny eyed them suspiciously for a moment before she changed the subject, she could see them visibly relax when she stopped questioning them. After several minutes, they heard the front door slam shut and several voices echoing downstairs.

"The others must be back from their walk." Harry stated.

He and Dawn began to head for downstairs and stopped when they noticed Ginny wasn't following.

"You guys can go ahead, I'll be down in a minute." She explained, standing there innocently.

Waiting a moment until they were of sight, Ginny walked over and picked up the item on the floor that had caught her attention minutes earlier. She opened the green book to read the text, finally realising the importance of the text. She carefully hid the book in her trunk before racing downstairs.

* * *

The kitchen was packed with people for a Christmas Eve dinner later that night. The noise was almost deafening as the large group all chatted away with each other.

Dawn, however, sat very quietly slowly taking bites of her chicken, lost in her own thoughts. It didn't take long for Hermione, who was sitting nearby, to notice her sister's passive mood.

"You've been awfully quiet tonight, Dawn. Are you okay?" Hermione asked with genuine concern.

Dawn was pulled out of her reverie. "Y-yeah… I'm absolutely fine."

Hermione continued to watch her sister for a moment. Dawn avoided looking at her because she had just lied to her; instead she looked over and noticed Harry looking at her with concern.

"_Are you sure? It's a big thing to digest."_ She heard his voice, but looked around and saw that Hermione and the others nearby had continued eating and talking as if they hadn't heard him.

"Yes, I'm sure." She answered, assuming that nobody else must have been paying attention a moment ago.

Harry's head snapped up and he glanced at her with a look on his face that was a mixture of surprise and fear. "W-what?"

"I was just answering you're question." Dawn stated, taking a bite of her potatoes.

Harry frowned more, if it was possible. "I didn't say anything. B-but…"

The two of them just looked at each other for a moment before both deciding to keep this to themselves until later. In the meantime, Ron, Ginny and Hermione had watched the exchange silently, with confusion.

They all continued eating and chatting to the surrounding people, and Dawn continued to eat silently. She looked around the room and saw all the happy faces, everyone laughing or talking with great enthusiasm. Her eyes fell upon Hermione as she talked with Ron, Ginny and Tonks; she'd always admired her sister, she was smarter, sensible, and caring.

"And she isn't even my sister." She thought, interrupting all her other thoughts.

She was trying to accept the truth about where she came from, but every time she thought about it, she couldn't help but be reminded of all the things that she believed that aren't even real or the truth. She felt the sudden urge to get away from all the happy, laughing, normal people surrounding her.

Dawn quickly slipped out of the kitchen to drown in her self-pity. She had thought that no one had noticed, except it wasn't long before Harry had slipped out quietly to talk to her.

Their exits hadn't been quiet enough, Ron noticed Dawn's empty chair and looked up to see Harry leaving the room.

"What the bloody hell is wrong with them? They've been acting odd since earlier today." He asked Hermione and his sister.

Hermione scolded him for swearing before answering. "I have no idea… what do you think, Ginny?"

Ginny shrugged, looking at the door out to the hallway with a pensive face.

"Do you want to know what we think?" Fred piped in, taking Dawn's empty seat.

George then appeared in Harry's empty seat, they both didn't wait for a response before continuing. "Dawn and Harry are having a secret love affair and are in the middle of a lovers quarrel."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "I actually think it may be something serious, but Dawn hasn't mentioned anything to me."

* * *

Tara had enjoyed catching up with many long-time acquaintances and friends, particularly chatting with her old friend, Charlie Weasley.

"So, teaching Defence Against Dark Arts, how is that going?" He asked her.

"Well I was co-teaching with Rupert Giles… it's more difficult now that I'm teaching on my own…" She trailed off, her thoughts on Giles' current condition.

"Oh, yes. I heard about that from dad and Bill, who found him after he had gone missing." He said in a sympathetic tone.

There was a short silence before Tara broke it. "Listen, I want to apologise to you, and everyone else, for just disappearing like that, without saying anything… I-I was going through some hard times."

"I was always wondering, the past three or four years, where you had disappeared to. I never figured that out." He explained.

"W-well, shortly after graduation I heard some news that my mother was sick… I decided to go back home, in America, to visit her. I didn't realise how bad things were, I got there just in time to see her die." She hesitated for a moment. "I decided to spend some time away from everything, living as a muggle, before I knew it, it'd been a few years…"

Charlie gave his condolences after Tara stopped explaining. However, he had the sneaking suspicion that she was withholding something from that story. He didn't ask about it though.

* * *

Dawn was stopped in the hallway when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around hesitantly.

"Listen, Harry. I don't really feel like talking right now, I'm just going to go up to my room." She explained impatiently.

"No, Dawn, I understand that… But what happened just before? When Hermione had asked you if you were alright, you didn't look like you were fine and I-" Harry responded.

"You asked me if I was sure, that I had a lot to digest. I heard you, but you said that you didn't say anything." Dawn interrupted.

Harry frowned. "That's because I really didn't say anything, but I thought it… it's like you actually read my thoughts. But how?"

Dawn's finger shot up, as if to show that she'd had a sudden epiphany. "Do you think that this has something to do with, with all this power I'm supposed to have? And when I picked up that book earlier, it felt weird, like something had surged through me, nothing like this has happened before I read that book."

"Well you should watch out then, if you plan on keeping this to yourself for a while, because a fifth year displaying certain powerful abilities is going to attract some attention."

"Well that's not true, you possess many amazing abilities."

"And it attracts a lot of unwanted attention, and besides people expect that from me… but if Voldemort was to hear about a fifth year that was able to do certain things, like occasionally hear peoples thoughts, then he might just realise." Harry explained.

"You're right-" Dawn began; however she quickly quietened up at the sound of a door opening.

Buffy appeared in the hallway, she noticed how Dawn had silenced and stopped.

"Oops. Sorry, looks like I've walked in on a private conversation." She apologised.

"No," Harry insisted. "It's alright."

"Great, because things are so loud in there and I really need to regain my hearing again. You guys needed a break too?" Buffy questioned, not mentioning some of the odd behaviour she was observing.

Dawn just nodded. "Wasn't really very hungry anyway, they really outdid the amount of food."

"I'm still kind of hungry, are you going to come back in, Dawn?" Harry asked, giving Dawn a quick look that Buffy couldn't see.

Dawn gave him an 'I'll be fine by myself' look before she replied. "No, I'll just stay here."

Buffy had barely caught the looks between the youngsters, but once again decided to say nothing. Dawn had sat herself down on the second last step of the staircase.

Buffy took a seat on the step next to her. "You've been quiet tonight, I noticed. Obviously something's troubling you, does it have anything to do with Harry?"

Dawn shook her head quickly and replied. "Oh, no, it doesn't have anything to do with that." Even though he fit into a small part of the equation of her troubles.

"Well, even though I'm your teacher… gee that makes me sound old, I'm not that old am I?" Buffy began rambling.

Dawn chuckled in response, one of the first laughs of the day. Buffy realised she had gotten off the track and continued talking.

"Anyway, I find it hard to talk to my friends sometimes, I don't want to trouble them or sometimes I just can't talk to them… like lately, Giles has been more of a father to me than my biological father and now we don't even know if he will get his mind back."

"How did this happen to him, and the other people? Is it Voldemort, or some spell, or a creature? And why?" Dawn inquired.

Buffy didn't want to reveal too much information, but hated keeping her in the dark. "Not exactly Voldemort, but someone working for him, you could say. They're looking for something, and even we don't know exactly where it is or what it looks like."

She hoped that Dawn wouldn't inquire too much further.

After Buffy's comments, Dawn had sudden thoughts. "Oh no! This is happening to those people because they're looking for me."

She became silent, not asking any further questions, lost in her thoughts. Buffy noticed this and breathed a sigh of relief to herself before deciding that Dawn probably needed some time alone.

"Well kiddo, just remember that you can talk to me… if you really need to."

* * *

Tara arranged her Christmas presents away in a cupboard in her room. She was surprised at the amount of people who had given her presents, remembering back to not so long ago when she basically had no one. No friends, no family…

Family. She was confused about that subject, she didn't even know who was her family. At that moment, Tara suddenly remembered back to a few years ago, after she had finished Hogwarts.

_Tara stepped out of the fireplace and into the living room of the house she grew up in. She wasted no time in leaving her bags in the middle of the room before driving over to the hospital. She didn't want to risk apparating to the Muggle hospital, in case she was seen._

_It was not long before she was wandering through the brightly lit hospital corridors in search of the right room. In her rush, she accidentally ran into a doctor in the hallway._

"_E-excuse me, could you please tell me where Helen Maclay's room is?" She enquired._

"_Are you a relative?" The doctor responded._

_She nodded. "Yes, I'm her daughter, Tara."_

"_Oh," The doctor began grimly. "I'm Doctor Phillips, I just came from her room and she's been asking for you. She's in intensive care now and I'm not really sure if there is anything more that we can do for her… I'm terribly sorry."_

_Tara maintained composure as she thanked Doctor Phillips and he directed her towards her mother's room._

_When she entered the room, she saw a room filled with large machines and devices. Her eyes fell upon a small bed, her mother was lying there, pale and with very little movement._

"_Mom?" She asked quietly, trying to take in the sight before her._

_Her mother moved her head ever so slightly to look in Tara's direction._

"_Tara?" Her mother asked, her voice weak and raspy._

_Tara nodded. "I-I only just heard, s-sorry I couldn't get here any faster… I just graduated from Hogwarts yesterday."_

_Her mother smiled at her, proud of her daughter. "The only thing that matters is that you got here. I was wondering if you would make it… I love you, but there is something… something that I needed… to tell… that you should know before…"_

_Tara noticed her mother's shortness of breath rapidly becoming worse and she knew that there wasn't long left at all. She picked up her mother's hand and put it in her own._

_Her mother struggled for breath, barely receiving any air. "I love you… as if you were my own."_

_With that, the breathing stopped, her mother fell still and the machines produced a high-pitched drone._

Tara was brought out of her reverie by footsteps approaching down the hallway. The door opened and Xander popped his head in the doorway.

"Are you going to bed now? If not there's some delicious desserts downstairs." He explained.

Tara shook her head. "No, I'm pretty tired, I think I'll just go to sleep. Thanks." She said with a smile.

After Xander left, she turned down her blankets and hopped straight into bed. Just before she closed her eyes those words popped into her head, the words she remembered every day since then but had never repeated them to anyone.

* * *

**A.N – So there you have it. I'm very big on the drama at the moment… hehe. You know the drill (Please Review!). – Akalea :)**


	21. Underneath the Mistletoe

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: I really wish that I was a faster writer, but unfortunately I'm not. It takes me a little while to collect all my ideas together and then sometimes I have to battle to find the time to write it. But I'm getting there…**

**Now for my only review:**

**Pay-day1999 – Thanks once more for a great review. :) I haven't really explained the mind-reading thing probably because I haven't fully worked that out myself. Hehe. Yeah, the Tara thing was probably a shock because I only really thought of it not long ago and so it was very sudden. And yep, still a few more chapters before the Scoobs find out, but I promise it will be good. :) **

* * *

**Chapter 20 – Underneath The Mistletoe **

Tara woke up in a cold sweat on Christmas morning, jumping up into a sitting position very suddenly. This got the attention from her roommates.

"Merry Christmas… whoa, Tara are you alright?" Buffy inquired, she was standing in the middle of the room performing her morning stretches. "You're working up quite a sweat there."

Tara peered down at her pyjamas; they clung significantly to her moist skin.

"Bad dream." She replied simply, although this was true, she was unwilling to go into details.

"It wasn't one of those, you know, freaky, prophetic dreams?" Willow asked, placing the book she was reading on her bedside table and climbing out of bed.

Tara shook her head reluctantly. She looked curiously over at the book on the bedside table. "That book looks familiar, what are you reading up on?"

"Oh that," She responded, picking up the book to look at the cover. "It's just a book on special demons and the like. I've been trying to research up on Glory, see if there isn't any way I can help Giles and the others."

Buffy's ears perked up. "Found anything?"

"Well, all I know so far is that Glory needs to feed off these people, off all the real life, thoughts and memories in their heads. This all can't disappear to nowhere, so I have a theory that all this stuff is still stored in Glory because she absorbed it… we've just gotta find a way to get it back to where it belongs." Willow ranted.

Buffy looked hopeful. "Good job, Will."

Willow was glad to see her friend's mood improve dramatically at this news, however she didn't want to get Buffy's hopes up and then have it all crashing down.

"Well, it's something but I'm not sure if or how we can get their essences back." She explained, selecting clothes to wear and then disappearing down towards the bathroom.

Several moments after Willow had left, Buffy spoke up. "I don't know how the Scooby Gang would survive if it weren't for Willow's logical brain. I know I'm definitely not a rocket scientist."

Tara smiled. "Yeah, she's amazing."

"Does this mean that you and Willow-" Buffy began not long before getting cut off.

Tara shook her head quickly. "No, we still have decided that it's better that we're friends."

Buffy nudged her arm slightly with a cheeky smile. "So… is there anyone else now?"

"I'm not sure…"

* * *

"Merry Christmas!" Dawn woke up to Ginny and Hermione jumping on top of her.

"Ah!" She cried out in between laughs. "I… can't… breathe."

The other two girls slid off and onto the side of the bed.

"I can't believe you slept this long on Christmas morning!" Hermione said, who was already showered and dressed.

Ginny, however, was in her pyjamas with a dressing gown and slippers. Dawn quickly jumped out of bed and threw on her own dressing gown and put something on her feet.

They decided to go downstairs and see if anyone else was ready to open some of the presents. Since it wasn't very early in the morning, basically everyone was downstairs.

"Morning Dawn, good to see you weren't in a coma up there," Xander joked to her as he checked the time on his watch. "After a while, we thought we better wake you up."

"Were you all waiting for me?" She questioned.

Looking around the room, she saw that most of the people were relaxed in chairs, talking and laughing. Fred and George were conspiring over the other side of the room as usual; Mrs. Weasley, Harry and Ron were putting some last minute presents under the small tree that Dumbledore had conjured up.

That suddenly reminded Dawn that she'd left a few presents for her sister and friends up in her room.

"I left some presents up in our room." She stated to Hermione and Ginny.

"I'll come and help you." Ginny offered, reflecting the bighearted manners of Mrs. Weasley.

Dawn had done some shopping at Hogsmeade several weeks ago, purchasing some simple, but thoughtful presents. Dawn gave some of the smaller ones for Ginny to carry and took some of the larger ones herself.

Opening the door, Dawn was greeted with a sudden burst of water falling from above and totally drenching her from head to foot. Ginny watched with shock from behind as the water soaked Dawn and then quickly disappeared once hitting the floor, so it didn't leave a puddle. The paper in which she'd wrapped her presents was completely dripping wet, and some of them would be water-damaged.

A small note appeared in her hands, which read: 'Thought you might need help waking up.'

Dawn immediately knew who the culprit, or culprits, were and screamed out. "FRED! GEORGE!"

Dawn was furious, storming down the stairs and Ginny was also very disappointed at her brothers and followed closely behind. Dawn decided to look for them in the kitchen first, knowing that they had probably tried to hide.

As she reached up to the doorhandle, she felt a weird surge and saw sparks flowed out of her hand and onto the handle. The door flew open with such force that it slammed around to crash against the wall.

Dawn stopped and studied her hand carefully.

"What the hell was that?" Ginny interrogated, still looking back and forwards between the door and Dawn. "How did you-"

Dawn had quickly snapped out of her daze to interrupt. "Huh? I just got… got a little carried away with hunting your brothers down… perhaps I swung the door open a little too hard."

Ginny pointed to Dawn's hand. "But what about your hand, something happened when you went to open the door…"

Dawn looked at her hand and then rubbed it carefully. "Don't worry… I just hurt it when I tried to open the door too quickly."

"But…" Ginny trailed off with a frown and shook her head in confusion as she went to put the presents down near the tree.

After Ginny left, Dawn breathed a sigh of relief. She definitely was going to have to control her anger if that has some affect on this power she contained as the Key. She quickly remembered that she had two jokester redheads to track down.

* * *

The occupants of 12 Grimmauld Place were all busy opening and giving out gifts to one another. Dumbledore watched them interact with the unusual twinkle in his eye; he'd just conjured up several groups of mistletoe and hung them up around the house.

Ron was busy unwrapping his present from Harry, it turned out to be the latest Quidditch book that hadn't actually reached the bookstores yet. Ron was ecstatic at the gift.

"Wow, thanks, Harry," He responded, already opening the book and reading snippets of it. "But how'd you manage to get a copy of it? The bookstores said that it wouldn't come in for another two weeks."

"I have my ways…" Harry said mysteriously, leaving them all wondering.

"Uh, guys," Ginny interrupted suddenly. "I hate to point this out, but you're both standing under mistletoe."

Both boys' heads shot up and no longer than a second later, they'd jumped out from under it. Ginny rolled around in her chair, laughing.

"Eww, gross!" Ron exclaimed, and then laughed. "No offence, of course, Harry."

"Absolutely none taken. But I think Dumbledore got a little carried away with decorating mistletoe." Harry responded, pointing to various places around the room.

Meanwhile, across the other side of the room, Willow pointed out some more mistletoe hanging from the ceiling.

"Xander, Anya… you're under some mistletoe." She observed, pointing up at it.

Anya looked up at it curiously. "I still don't get this whole Christmas holiday thing. Are you cursed or something if you don't kiss under the green plant thing?"

Xander shook his head. "Of course not, Ahn. It's just a tradition we have."

"So I don't have to kiss you?"

Xander put on a fake hurt look. "I am offended that you would avoid kissing me if you didn't have to."

Anya surprised him suddenly with a full-on snog, when she pulled away; she looked up at the roof, deep in thought. "Hmm, do they have any of those mistletoes where it's traditional to have sex under them."

Willow, who was watching the exchange between Xander and Anya with amusement, screwed up her face, trying to shake the mental pictures of her friends that that comment brought on. Her attention switched, fortunately, to the sound of tapping on the window.

She went over and let the unfamiliar owl in. It flew gracefully over to Dumbledore and stuck out its leg. Dumbledore immediately took the message off its leg and read it.

"Ah, well it appears I have some business to attend to." He informed anyone who was watching or listening.

* * *

Later that day, Dawn found a moment to tell Harry what had happening that morning, since she had no one else she could tell, she felt relieved to be able to talk about it.

"What, so sparks came out of your hand and the door practically flew open and off its hinges?" Harry asked incredulously. "I don't think Ginny would've accepted your explanations."

"She seemed skeptical but didn't ask anymore questions… but I think that it all must've been connected to my emotions, my anger just released all this energy."

Harry simply nodded and they sat in silent for a short moment.

"Harry, about yesterday…" She broke the silence for a few seconds before trailing off, trying to gather her words.

Then Harry spoke up. "Sorry… you were upset and I probably shouldn't have chosen that moment to kiss you."

Dawn shook her head quickly. "I felt better after that…I'm glad you did…" She smiled.

They fell into another silence, something that seemed to be becoming a common occurrence, however, they just enjoyed the simplicity of being able to sit in an undisturbed silence.

However, their silence didn't remain undisturbed for long. Ron and Hermione entered the room, arguing about something.

"Really, Ron, you've got to control your anger and start thinking with your head." Hermione pointed out.

Ron looked affronted at this comment, his face turning red in anger. "Are you implying that I'm stupid or something? Anyway I just went on my instincts and my instincts said 'danger'. And of course, we can't all be as level-headed and bright as you, 'Mione."

Hermione gritted her teeth. "Don't call me that. And anyway I would have seen Dumbledore there and my instincts would have been to find out what was going on and…" Hermione continued to rant on, completely oblivious to Harry and Dawn sitting there watching.

"Do you think they'll notice that we're here?" Harry asked Dawn.

"Probably not. The question is, how do we stop them before they tear each others' heads off?"

After a second of thought, Harry got a mischievous smirk on his face.

"Ron, Hermione," He spoke up loud; they appeared to have heard him but continued arguing. "There's mistletoe over your head!"

"Dumbledore strikes again." Dawn stated with a giggle.

The arguing ceased as they both looked up. As they looked back down, a pink blush crept up on both of their faces.

"Well?" Dawn questioned, crossing her arms eagerly with a smile.

Ron and Hermione both leaned in reluctantly, just before their two heads met, Hermione turned her head so that they just ended up kissing each other on the cheek. Harry and Dawn snickered at this.

"What, in the name of Merlin, were you arguing about anyway?" Harry quizzed as the blush on both their faces reddened.

Hermione took a deep breath. "Well, we were downstairs when Sirius told us that Dumbledore was back and was in the kitchen. Surely enough, we went in there… before I know it, Ron's just gone crazy… and attacked him."

Dawn frowned; Hermione didn't make sense. "What? Attacked Dumbledore?"

Hermione sighed impatiently. "No, not Dumbledore. Draco Malfoy."

* * *

Tara had always enjoyed Christmas, first she always spend it with her family, well who she thought was her family, then at Hogwarts. But the past few years, before she had met the Scooby Gang and made more friends, she had spent them alone and all the joy was taken out of it.

However, now she smiled as she was surrounded by a house full of new friends, the Scoobies and some old friends. Even if she didn't have her family, it felt good to be encircled by people who cared about her. She wondered even if perhaps maybe family would surround her in the not to distant future.

"Tara, dear," Molly Weasley called out. "Could you please hand me that bowl over there, rather than rely on using my wand."

"Sure." Tara replied, completing her request.

"Sometimes, it's easier just doing things the muggle way… well, not necessarily easier but more gratifying, if you know what I mean…" Mrs. Weasley trailed off.

Tara nodded. "Yes, I do. I-I actually went several years without even picking up a wand, but I began to learn and study some Wandless Magic which-"

_Tara cut off as she found herself transported into a whole different place. At first she thought it was a Portkey, but she hadn't even touched anything the second before she transported._

_She looked around, the place was extremely dark and she struggled to see._

"_Why is it so dark?" She thought to herself and she wandered around._

_She could see a faint light off into the distance, she began to take a few steps towards it and then suddenly she found herself standing right in front of it._

_There stood three people, no four. There was someone standing off to the side and two people standing together, one cradling a small infant in their arms. She couldn't make out their faces though._

"_What will happen to little Elizabeth Tara?" The woman holding the baby girl asked._

_The person standing off to the side spoke up. "She will be given to a loving family and she will be safe, I promise that."_

_Tara thought that this voice sounded extremely familiar as she continued to listen._

"_Are you sure this is what we want to do, Tiger?" The man yet to speak asked the woman next to him._

_She hesitated for a moment and sighed. "Well… I just can't believe that we're letting this stupid prophecy make us do something like this to our little girl."_

"_There's a small chance that she will even live to be one year-old with us, if she's given a home, one far away, she'll be able to live a normal life and be free from danger." He assured._

_The woman sighed once more before looking down at her baby and kissing it on the cheek. "Bye."_

"_I will make sure that she is safe." The other man guaranteed as he received the baby in his arms._

_The woman began to cry into the shoulder of the man beside her. At this moment, Tara attempted to take a few steps closer where she could see in better light. Once she did this, she immediately recognised the faces of all three people._

"Tara!" Arthur Weasley shook her, she now found herself lying on the floor of the kitchen.

Molly stood behind Arthur, anxiously. "You just blacked out and I've been trying to wake you for 10 minutes, are you alright?"

Tara sprung up from her position on the floor in a matter of seconds. "I-I need to speak with Albus Dumbledore."

* * *

**A.N – Well, I began writing this chapter slowly and then towards the end here, it just took off and before I knew it I was at 9 pages! Thanks for reading this chapter – Akalea :)**


	22. That's Not Me

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Yay! Another chapter… well it was going to be posted much sooner (I had it done the day I posted the last chapter but there was this bit confusion thing with my beta reader. I thought she was busy and that's why she hadn't replied but then I just found out she didn't actually get the email… oh well.**

**Hehe, oh and I realised that I seem to revolve a lot around the kitchen… oh well; it just seems like a good place to get the characters to convene.**

**Oh and I'm a bit naughty in this chapter, with the 'f' word… but I thought I might make use of the PG-13 rating that I have. :)**

**For my reviews:**

**_Pay-day1999_ – thank you so much again for reviewing. :) Wow, I'm glad that I baffled you with the Tara thing; except I'm sure you'll be disappointed when you find out… hehe. Yeah, I agree – they made out that the Key was all-powerful and then Dawn did absolutely nothing for the rest of the show basically.  
_Victoria87_ – Yes, you reviewed back in Chapter 16. Thank you for taking the time to review. Hehe, you might want to read back over chapter 21 before this chapter because then you'll already know who Elizabeth Tara is. :)  
_Anne_ – Ooh yay, thanks for reviewing again. :) There's even more drama cooking in the oven that is my brain.**

**This chapter is completely dedicated to my beta reader, _Shymk_, who has really helped me to feel more confident with my writing, and also to _pay-day1999_ who always seems to find time to read and review this story, and if it weren't for these two people encouraging me, I wouldn't have gotten nearly as far with this story. Oh and to all those people who are reading this story, even if I don't know who you are. :)  
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**Chapter 21 – That's Not Me**

It hadn't taken long for Harry and Dawn, followed by Hermione and Ron, to rush downstairs to find out about one of the latest developments at 12 Grimmauld Place.

As they walked into the kitchen, they heard Sirius' voice. "How do we know that this isn't just some bloody stunt and he's really going to be passing information over to the other side? Wouldn't put it past a Malfoy."

Draco Malfoy's emotions were unreadable; he sat there silently, not attempting to retort Sirius' accusation. He and the other occupants of the kitchen all looked up as the four Gryffindors entered.

"Come back for round two, Weasley?" Draco asked, sporting quite a few cuts and bruises, one very recent, the others somewhat older.

Ron ignored the comment and just turned to look at Dumbledore in confusion, as did the other three.

"If we can all control our emotional reactions for the time being, perhaps we should all sit down and discuss this." Dumbledore suggested in a firm tone, paying particular attention to Ron and Sirius.

"We'd really like to know what's going on, Professor." Harry stated as he took a seat.

Dumbledore was helping himself into a seat as well. "And so you shall."

He took a moment to let everyone settle before continuing. "As you know, I received an urgent owl this morning… quite an odd one, especially on Christmas Day. However, it appears that Mr. Malfoy here is requesting an asylum from Voldemort and his followers, which I believe includes his father." Dumbledore explained, looking over at Draco for confirmation.

Draco merely nodded. The others all looked shocked, some highly skeptical.

"This is completely ridiculous!" Sirius cried out once more, unable to control himself. "Why would Lucius Malfoy allow his son to leave home and seek out help or assist people like ourselves?"

"I was wondering the same thing too." Remus spoke up.

Dumbledore raised his hands to call for silence. "Well, of course, Mr. Malfoy hasn't said much about the whole situation, just that he needs our help, and I cannot deny him that."

As more discussion went on, Hermione lent over and whispered to her sister beside her. "Something's wrong, Malfoy has barely said more than one or two sentences… something's up."

Dawn nodded. "Yeah, and we know that Malfoy can't keep his bloody mouth shut."

As their attention focused back on the discussion in front of them, they noticed that Mrs. Weasley had left the room.

"Um, Professor," Hermione began, interrupting the discussion. "For the time being, it's obvious that he'll be staying here. But what happens when things quieten down and we all go back to live in our own homes, where will Malfoy go?"

This got the attention of most people in the room, especially Draco himself.

"Ah, yes," Dumbledore said. "That is an important matter, however, I don't know what will happen with him. We will have to, as they say, 'cross that bridge when we come to it'."

Mrs. Weasley had re-entered the room after her absence for several minutes. Dumbledore turned his attention towards her.

"She's finished resting and is very eager to talk with you. She's very shook up, do you have any idea what this is about, Albus?" Molly questioned.

Dumbledore nodded while standing up. "Yes, it is something that I've been waiting for, for the past twenty years."

After a moment of puzzlement from Molly, he walked over to the door, addressing the people surrounding the table. "Well, if you'll excuse me, we'll continue this discussion later. I have another very important matter to attend to."

After he left the room, Harry turned to his Godfather.

"Sirius, do you have any idea what that was about?" He asked.

Sirius thought deeply for several seconds before answering. "I think I might have a good idea… but I'm sure we'll all know for sure with time."

* * *

Tara opened her eyes groggily, that vision had taken plenty out of her. She definitely wasn't used to having those sorts of things happen while she was actually conscious, so it was a new experience for her.

As her eyes focused, she saw several people sitting around her including the Scoobies, Mrs. Weasley and Charlie Weasley.

As soon as they noticed her awake, Mrs. Weasley rushed to her side, checking her forehead. "Are you alright, dear? You gave us all quite a big scare… what happened?"

Tara pushed up into a sitting position and rubbed her face. "W-we were in the middle of conversation and then suddenly I f-found myself in a different place… it felt so real. But I knew it was another vision, except it's the first one I've ever had awake."

"What did you see?" Buffy was quick to ask. "Was it about the Key, and that's why you wanted to see Dumbledore?"

Tara sat forward as everything came rushing back to her. "No… but I really need to speak with him, is he back yet?"

Charlie nodded. "He came back little while ago with Draco Malfoy…" He noticed Tara's frown. "Which is a whole different story."

"Well, I should go back downstairs and get him." Mrs. Weasley said, standing up.

After she had left, Tara climbed out of bed slowly and spoke up to everyone. "Sorry, I know you're all concerned but this is a personal thing."

They all murmured or nodded their understandings and filed out of the room. Charlie lingered for an extra moment, giving her a quick squeeze of the hand.

Dumbledore entered the room as Charlie was leaving. Tara looked over at him apprehensively, not really sure how to begin.

Dumbledore took a seat and was the first to break the silence. "Judging by the urgency that we have a discussion, I assume we are here to discuss a recent discovery of yours."

She nodded and launched into the bulk of the matter, eager to get some answers. "I've got so many questions… why was I given away as a baby? Why didn't anyone at least give me the right to know about my real parents, even if no one else could know? Why didn't you tell me if you knew all this time? What does this mean now? What is this about a prophecy? What-"

Dumbledore cut her off to explain. "Your parents were very young at the time, which I'm sure you've already worked out. Even before you were born, we could see the huge potential in you and we also already knew of your prophetic and psychic abilities."

Tara frowned. "But how is that possible when I wasn't even born?"

"While you were developing in the womb, due to the fact you were connected to your mother during this time, she was able to experience any visions because of you. One was extremely hard to ignore, if you stayed with them you would be killed not long into your childhood. We of course couldn't take that chance and knew that for your wellbeing, it was best that you be taken away somewhere far enough that you'd be safe."

Tara found it all so hard to take in. "But once I lived past that point in life, the prophecy… vision or whatever would be broken and couldn't I have been told the truth?"

"Even if they weren't your biological family, you had a family who loved you… more than some other people have and there are a few examples sitting downstairs. However, I also expected that you would find out by yourself… especially since you had been experiencing a lot of visions lately. Oh, and there is also no coincidence with that and bringing you here from America… without the information we receive from you, we wouldn't know half of what we know about the Key currently."

Tara sighed slowly, looking down at the floor, her eyes watering slightly. "But this doesn't make any difference, both my adopted parents are dead and now I know that my real parents are dead."

"Yes, most unfortunate. However, now you know that you have a brother who's under the same roof as you." He pointed out while walking out of the room, his eyes twinkling as he paused in the doorway. "And Lily and James would have be proud of you."

* * *

Harry and Ron spent the early evening playing chess up in their room. Harry had, of course, given up all hope of being able to win against his best friend.

"Check." Ron called out happily as one of his pieces moved itself across the board.

Harry studied the board intently for possible escape moves. Both boys looked up as they heard the door open. Mrs. Weasley walked into the room with Draco trailing unenthusiastically behind her.

"There's a spare bed over in that corner there." She said, pointing to the far right corner next to a wardrobe.

"You've got to be bloody kidding me." Ron moaned as Draco set what little amount of belongings he had with him on the bed.

"Ronald Weasley!" Mrs. Weasley retorted. "I will not have you talking like that! As you may have noticed, we are very full in this house at the moment, so we have to share several people to a room. I have to go finish dinner now."

Ron let out an annoyed groan.

"I'm not exactly thrilled about it either, Weasel," Draco began. "And besides, I would have thought that you would be used to sharing a room, you're family can only afford to sleep all in the same room normally, don't they?"

Ron's face reddened and Harry looked very aggravated at that comment.

"Listen, Malfoy," Harry said, taking a few steps towards him. "I don't know what you're up to but if anyone in this house gets hurt because of you, then I will take it personally to track you down and make you wish you were never born."

"Well, look who's grown a skin," Draco scoffed. "And if there's anyone who's going to get hurt, it'll probably be me."

"That reminds me, how did you get all those cuts and bruises anyway? Besides the one I gave you…" Ron asked. "I mean, did You-Know-Who, your master, give them to you because you weren't able to follows his orders?"

"Pathetic… I don't have to fucking take this from _you_." He replied before storming out of the room.

As he exited the room, he dodged around Tara who was standing near the door and ran down the hall. He stopped at a doorway to a room he hadn't been shown by Mrs. Weasley; it looked old and remarkably untouched. He opened the door slowly, squinting to see in the darkness as he entered, however he noticed some faint light struggling to get through the fabric draped over the window.

Draco walked over and threw back the curtains, letting in what little daylight what left, which was much better because he could actually make out what the different objects around the room were. It appeared to be an old unused bedroom, despite the fact that Mrs. Weasley had said that they were tight for sleeping space.

He looked around; the room was covered in a substantial layer of dust indicating that it hadn't been touched in months, perhaps years even. He heaved himself onto the bed, a rather large dust cloud forming in the room.

After he'd stopped coughing from the dust cloud, he sat there pondering deeply. This only lasted for a few moments we he heard someone enter the room, which caused him to jump up onto his feet.

"I saw the door slightly open, and no one ever comes into Mrs. Black's old room. What are you doing in here, Malfoy?" He immediately matched the voice and the red hair to be Ginny Weasley.

"That's none of your business, Weasley." Draco was quick to retort, it just rolled off his tongue easily because he was such a secretive, reticent person when it came to his thoughts or feelings.

Ginny held up her hands, anger bubbling to the surface. "Well of course it wouldn't be, I'm never supposed to know anything, and I'm supposed to be ignorant. It's always 'You're too young' or 'Don't worry about it, Ginny' and I'm sick of it!"

After she'd finished her small outburst, she took a deep breath and wondered where that had come from. She blushed at her behaviour, especially the fact that it was Malfoy standing in front of her; how could he understand her feelings if he had none of his own?

Draco's eyebrows rose. "Trouble in paradise, Weaslette?"

"What would you know, _Malfoy_…" She began, but soon paused. "Wait a second, did you just call my life with my family paradise? You must have been hit by one too many spells – you're always being a complete jerk and teasing our family about money."

"Well I'm sure anyone in your family hasn't ever done this to you before." He replied, pointing at the cuts and bruises on his body.

After a moment, he realised that his guard was weakening. He cleared his face of any emotions and gave Ginny a cold stare before exiting the room.

* * *

Tara lingered at the door for ages, no being able to actually walk through it; she had no idea what she was going to say. She could have almost just turned around and walked away, but that option was impossible as Draco Malfoy opened the door and sped past her.

As she looked in the room, she saw Ron and Harry staring at her curiously. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside.

"Hi." Harry said awkwardly as Tara took several hesitant steps towards them.

She smiled in return. "W-was that Draco Malfoy who just ran out past me?"

As Ron finished the chess game off, he looked over at Tara and nodded. "Yep, and you missed all drama downstairs just before when we were all talking about it, that was until Dumbledore had to go upstairs for something urgent."

Tara paused for a moment. "Oh, well that's actually why I came in here…"

Ron sighed. "Please don't tell me that Malfoy's now been re-sorted into Gryffindor now?"

Tara quickly shook her head. "No, not about that… I was the person who needed to speak with Dumbledore urgently."

Harry screwed up his face in confusion. "I don't understand, what does it have to with us, Professor?"

Tara chuckled lightly at this, confusing the two boys even further. "Actually it was to do with you, Harry… and I don't think need to call me Professor, Tara's fine."

"What is this thing to do with me?" Harry questioned.

Tara took a deep breath. "W-well, just after I graduated from Hogwarts, the only mother I'd ever known told me, on her deathbed, that she wasn't really my mother. Today I discovered that Dumbledore was there when my parents gave me away. I was just talking to him and he told me that my parents are dead… but I… I do still have a brother."

She finished and fell into complete silence, just staring at Harry, waiting for his reaction.

"Are you saying that… that…" He trailed off in disbelief.

"What?" Ron asked with confusion, not comprehending.

"Why… why is it you have blonde hair?" Was the only thing that Harry was able to ask, which seemed really stupid considering the present situation.

"I believe that came from your grandmother, James' mother, Harry." A voice said, appearing in the doorway.

Harry's head snapped towards the doorway. "Sirius? You knew about this?"

Sirius nodded sadly as he entered the room. Ron, in the meantime, finally registered on what was going on and watched the interactions with his eyes open wide.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Harry asked while Tara kept silent because she'd asked the same thing to Dumbledore.

Sirius took a deep breath. "Lily and James made both Remus and I promise not speak a word of it once they gave Tara away. They found it painful to take such an action, even if they were too young to look after and protect her… Once Lily and James were killed, I just couldn't bring myself to break my promise to them."

Harry stared at his Godfather in disbelief, realising that he not only had his Godfather but he actually had a sister, and in some way that helped ease his loneliness of not having his parents.

In the silence, Sirius and Ron could see that both Tara and Harry needed some time alone to talk and let all the new information and revelations set in.

"Well I think I hear Molly calling for dinner," Sirius said, clearing his throat. "We should go down and we'll see you down there."

Ron took the hint and followed Sirius out of the room.

They both stood there in silence for several moments, neither person knowing what to say.

"So, what happens now?" Harry asked, breaking the silence.

Just when he thought that life was already complicated enough with his parents dead, Voldemort wanting his life, recently finding out that Dawn was the Key and Voldemort also being after her… he knew things were only beginning to get interesting.

* * *

**A.N – A big chapter! I really hope that gets you typing those reviews! As you can see, it seems like I'm getting a little off the track with the Key storyline, but I still have my plans for that and it all ties in nicely. And besides, I hope this creates a little more interest with the multiple storylines going on. Thanks for reading – Akalea :)**


	23. Sharing the Dark

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Hi everyone! I'm back. I've been so busy with Uni like you wouldn't believe, and exams are coming up in a few weeks too! AAHHH! It's been a while, since then I've turned 18 (yay!) and have been thinking from time to time "Oh crap! I really should write more, instead of leaving those poor people in suspense for so long".**

**Well anyway, onto the reviews:**

**_Victoria87_ – Don't worry about it, I even get mixed up with my own story sometimes… lol. Anyway, thank you very much for sharing with me your experiences and being honest. I guess it is very hard to understand something that you haven't been through, but I'm sure it is such a tough time on anyone who goes through it. So I have included some strong emotional reactions in this chapter, even though I'm sure it still wouldn't live up to the real thing. But I tried, and thank you very much for your advice and constructive criticism. :)  
_Pay-day1999_ – Ooh yay, I'm glad I did something that was a surprise 'coz that's what this story is all about :) If you liked the Ginny/Draco discussion, there will be more of them because he needs some interaction with someone his age and you know that Harry or Ron wouldn't even give him the time of day, plus I think I've been reading too many G/Dr fics lately too. Hehe. Thanks, you and the other reviewers are still encouragement for me to write this story, even though I haven't for ages due to time restrictions, I feel so mean for leaving you hanging for so long :(. **

Keep those reviews coming, and once again, my sincere apologies for taking so, so long with this chapter.

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Chapter 22 – Sharing the Dark

The final week of the year was a quiet one, members of the Order still coming and going, in search of the Key and attending any other concerning matters. Tara and Harry hadn't really known what to say to each other, the reality of the latest development not sinking in. They had also kept silent about it, as had the others who knew.

The time to talk about it had come, as a meeting was ending on New Year's Eve morning, Charlie approached her.

"Are you alright? You've been extremely quiet and drawn since Christmas… you can talk to me." He offered, staring straight into her face.

She couldn't just simply nod because things weren't all perfect, even though she'd had time to adjust to the idea that the woman she once thought was her mother wasn't. She never even had a chance to meet her real parents either.

After a moment of deep contemplation, she caught Dumbledore's eye as he was standing up. She gave a quick nod to him.

"Oh, before everyone goes, there is one more matter…"

After Dumbledore had explained the latest developments to the rest of the people in the house, there were mixed reactions, however mainly shock and disbelief. Afterwards, Charlie approached Tara once again in the hallway.

"So that's what you meant when you were talking about what you did after Hogwarts," He began, finally filling in the missing pieces to Tara's story from a week ago. "Merlin, I'd be upset and want to spend some time away from everything if I'd found out that my mother wasn't really my biological mother, well even though that's definitely not going to happen to me…" He trailed off, thinking about both his red hair and the vibrant red of Mrs. Weasley's.

Tara interrupted his thoughts as she collapsed against the wall. "I-I couldn't be more happy about having Harry has a brother… but… everything before now was just a lie, nothing about it really meant anything… it changes everything…"

As the tears began to plummet down from her eyes, Charlie put some steadying hands on her shoulders.

"You may not have known about all that, but I know for certain that not everything was a lie. I really valued your friendship through my years at Hogwarts and that had nothing to do with who your family was, but for the great person you are."

Tara couldn't help but smile through tears. "Thank you, Charlie… but I think we're beginning to sound like we belong on a soap opera."

He threw her a confused look in response and only a moment later, Tara threw her arms around him to give in an appreciative hug, which he returned, rubbing his hand in circles on the middle of her back to comfort her.

As they pulled back, Tara became conscious of how close their faces were to each other. Silently, she noticed that the gap was beginning to close slowly, inch by inch.

"Anya, I really think you should refrain from saying something like that next time, they're your students back at Hogwarts!" They heard Xander's voice nearby, scolding Anya once again for her lack of discretion.

This of course ruined the moment, causing the pair to pull apart quickly. Tara sneaked a quick look at Charlie, who was avoiding her face, before they continued down the hall.

* * *

Draco was bored out of his mind, lying on his back on his bed, in the room he was forced to share with Harry and Ron, with his legs propped up against the wall.

"Well this is pathetically boring," He announced, peering over at both his roommates, and Fred and George who were all reading Quidditch magazines. "Is this all you do everyday, how can you stand it?"

Harry dropped his magazine down from eye-level. "Can we gag him?"

George's eyes lit up. "Or, if you're really bored, we are in need of a test subject for some of our new inventions…"

"Any invisible gags or something?" Ron asked expectantly, to which Fred shook his head but also looked like he had a new idea.

Draco rolled his eyes. "So, Potter, I heard that it actually turns out that Maclay is your sister…"

"Your point is?" Harry asked, staring over at Malfoy.

"Well, if you look at it one way, no one is going to believe your sob story that you're a loser, all alone with no family now."

"Well I think he'd prefer to be alone all this time rather than have a family like yours, Malfoy." Ron retorted, looking quite pleased with himself that he now knew one of Malfoy's weaknesses.

Draco gave Ron his best death glare before silently leaving the room. Once again, he went down the hall and into Mrs Black's old bedroom, a place where he had sought refuge during his week stay at the Order's headquarters.

As he entered the room, he noticed a figure sitting on the bed, in a faint light, with a book perched in their lap. As he turned on the light, he sighed disappointingly when he saw who it was.

"We've got to stop meeting like this, Weaselette," He uttered, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Well then, sod off now."

Ginny threw down her book with anger. "Excuse me! This is my sanctuary, I started coming in here long before you arrived, thank you very much!"

"Well, it looks as though you've got a temper to match your hair." He spoke as he looked curiously at the book on the bed, before snatching it up. Ginny immediately jumped up to reach out for it.

"Give that back, Malfoy." She demanded firmly.

"Just as soon as I find out what's so good about this book, it's not some bloody sappy and sickening romance novel, is it?" He interrogated as he examined the green cover, then flicking through the pages quickly.

Ginny was able to quickly reach out and grab the book back before Draco could even react.

"No, if you _must_ know," She began confidently. "I found it in my room, I think Dawn and Harry were reading it."

"Well if goody Potter was reading it, then I think we can cross off the idea of it being porn." Draco stated.

Ginny screwed up her face in disgust. "Knowing your standards, that's probably what it'd be if you were reading it!"

She mentally kicked herself as she took steps towards the door. "I don't even know why this conversation with _you_ even got this far."

"I don't know why you're getting your knickers in a twist, I'm the one who's forced to talk to a Weasley because there's bloody no one else around!" He retorted as she opened the door.

She paused in the doorway only for a moment, which was long enough to hurl the book across the room in Draco's direction. He ducked down in time as he heard the door slam.

As the silence fell, Draco walked over and picked the book up curiously.

* * *

As they all gathered for dinner, most had noticed something peculiar – it had actually been a whole afternoon and they hadn't heard one word, let alone a complaint, from Draco. In fact, no one had even seen him.

"Where's peroxide boy? Haven't seen him since breakfast, not that I'm upset about that." Ron asked quietly as Mrs. Weasley forced him to put out all the plates and cutlery in preparation for dinner.

The others shrugged in response.

"Dawn, Hermione, would you be dears and get everyone to come down here? The food's almost ready." Mrs. Weasley questioned politely.

Both sisters nodded in response and left to find the people scattered throughout the house. Most were just casually sitting and talking downstairs, however Hermione noticed that some appeared to quieten down suddenly as she informed them of dinner. Not all were accounted for downstairs, however.

"I think Harry might be in the boys' room, go and tell him and I'll go and check the rest of this level." Dawn suggested carelessly as they reached the landing at the top of the stairs.

Hermione smiled in a mockingly way. "Oh, I thought it would have been the other way around."

Dawn scowled slightly, not thinking on the same level as her twin. She shook her head a parted ways, leaving Hermione behind with an even cheekier smile than before.

Trying to account for everyone with a mental list as she walked down the hall, she remembered Ron's comment from not so many moments ago.

"Where is that ferret?" She asked herself as she poked her head into each room.

With a glimmer of hope that Draco had actually decided to leave Twelve Grimmauld Place rather than complaining about it, she checked the last room upstairs. Until her eyes fell upon the door of old Mrs. Black's room isolated at the end of the hall.

"No one goes in there." She told herself as she shrugged and went to turn the other way.

She heard the squeaky echo of a door opening as she was headed for downstairs.

"Finders keepers, don't tell me you want it back after you threw it-" Draco's voice came from behind, however he paused when he noticed that it was Dawn standing in the hallway.

Considering she had no idea what he was talking about, she assumed he had heard her footsteps and mistaken her for someone else. Who that someone else was, she had no idea.

"I have no idea what you are going on about… but I came to find everybody because dinner is almost ready." She explained, and then her eyes fell on the contents of his hands.

Trying not to panic or show any emotion on her face, as stared at the aged green manuscript in Draco's hands. She hadn't even realised that it was gone from her belongings. Dawn paused as she waited for him to say something, perhaps about how the book came into his possession.

Draco simply raised his eyebrows at Dawn's hesitation. "Well are you going or not?"

* * *

"Apart from the whole Tara thing, things have been really quiet lately, Glory and Voldemort-wise," Buffy pointed out as she sat in between Dumbledore and Willow. "I just got an owl from Angel and the gang in LA and it seems as though most paranormal or evil activity has been low recently."

She gave a content smile as she unfolded her napkin.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Buffy," Anya interrupted from across the table, where she was seated next to her fiancé. "But from my centuries of experience, that generally isn't a good thing. When evil goes quiet, expect something big to happen or be in the works."

Dumbledore nodded in agreement. "Yes, I'm afraid I have to agree with Anyanka. The last time I saw a dramatic decrease in evil activity was the day before Lily and James Potter were killed."

After the wizard's comment, no one at their end of the table was smiling. Buffy sighed then dropped her head down to look at the tabletop.

"Yeah, I suppose evil never takes a break, that's why my job is 24/7… But I really hate having all these problems weighing on me and at the moment there's nothing I can do about them." Buffy confessed in attempt to relieve her frustrations.

"That's why we're here, Buffy." Willow explained, putting her hand on her best friend's shoulder for support.

Buffy looked up again and smiled. "But hey, enough about me… I can't even begin to imagine what Tara has been going through lately."

Their heads turned to watch Tara as she walked out of the kitchen for some reason.

"She is a strong witch, she will eventually come to accept everything and all we can do is offer our support." Dumbledore spoke wisely.

* * *

"Is Harry downstairs already?" Dawn questioned her sister as she passed her in the hallway, all while trying not to sound to frantic.

Hermione shook her head briefly. "No, he's still coming down, too fixed into his Quidditch magazine, even though he should be doing that Potions essay, but he said that he'll be down in a minute."

As Hermione walked off, she realised her sister was headed in the opposite direction. "Aren't you coming?"

Dawn took a moment to shake her head. "No… I've just forgotten to do something… just going back in our room for a minute."

Although Hermione had identified her sister's distress, she frowned and then shrugged it off, going down to the kitchen. After her sister had gone, Dawn, however, didn't do exactly what she had said and continued on into the boys' room.

"Don't worry, I'm coming, Hermione." Harry instantly said, not looking up for his magazine for a short moment until Dawn stood in the centre of the room.

"What's wrong?" He asked as he put down his magazine, immediately perceiving something to be wrong.

"How did you know something's wrong?" She asked.

"Is anything ever right around here these days?" He asked rhetorically, referring to the many incidents and developments over the past few weeks.

"Malfoy has the book, I don't know how he got it or whether he has read it… but if he has…" She blurted out before flopping down onto the bed next to him.

"Do you think he stole it? Or maybe he just happened to find it." Harry suggested.

"Well, I thought I was careful to not leave it lying around, and this is Malfoy we're talking about, I bet he stole it… and I bet he read it. If he stole it, then that means he knows it's mine, and what if he connects the fact that I have that book and what's actually in it with me?"

Harry took hold of her hand and squeezed it to provide comfort. "We'll figure something out… even if it means beating Malfoy to a bloody pulp."

Dawn giggled, relieving the moment before they fell into silence, just staring up at the roof.

However, as every other place of the house where they went, nothing stayed silent or exceptionally quiet for long. They both jumped a mile when they heard the clearing of a throat.

Dawn and Harry sprang up to a standing position to see Tara standing near the doorway with her eyebrows raised with interest.

"How long have you been there?" Harry asked, half blushing but also half anxious.

"About 10 or 15 seconds, is there something interesting with the ceiling?" She asked, taking a look for herself.

Both Dawn and Harry breathed a silent breath of relief, hidden from Tara. However, while looking between Harry and Tara, Dawn suddenly realised how selfish she had been going about her troubles, while Harry definitely had his share of them.

She gave Harry a small smile to show that she hadn't forgotten about him. "Well, I think Hermione is waiting for me in the kitchen."

After she watched Dawn leave, Tara gave a nervous and uncomfortable smile. "We haven't really had a chance to talk yet."

Harry nodded. "Sorry, I haven't been meaning to avoid you, but I'm so confused."

"S-so am I, Harry."

Tara stood there awkwardly. "So… d-does our aunt treat you well? Do you like it there?"

Harry didn't have to think long to answer this. "No… not really. Perhaps if I wasn't a wizard she might treat me as she does Dudley, but it's safe to say that anything would be better than living there."

Tara looked relieved at this comment. "Good… w-well not good. But I was talking to Dumbledore and he was telling me that the only reason you were living with your aunt the whole time was because your aunt has the same blood as Lily, I mean, our mother. Anyway, h-he said that he couldn't see why you aren't able to leave and stay with me, after all, same blood."

Harry's eyes lit up with excitement and enthusiasm. "Really? That would be great! When can I move out of the Dursley's?"

"Professor Dumbledore said that we could go around anytime, perhaps even tomorrow and tell our aunt about what's happening and then we will temporarily move your stuff into a spare room here." Tara explained with a content smile, pleased that her offer was not rejected. "Well, we should go to dinner."

Tara moved towards the door before Harry interrupted.

"If I was going have a sister… I'm glad that it's you." Harry confessed quietly, feeling slightly uneasy at the declaration.

Tara walked back over quickly, enveloping Harry in a quick, but sincere hug. A moment later, however, the noise of plates and cutlery clanging together from dinner called out to them.

* * *

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A.N – Hmm, I think that's it, slightly shorter (haha, I was about to say shortly slighter) than the last chapter, but I think you'd just be relieved to have something new to read! I really hope you like it – Akalea :)**


	24. Crescendo

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Damn, I knew I couldn't keep my promise, I even disappoint myself! But anyway, I definitely wanted to get this next chapter done before I go away. So, that means you won't be reading anything new for a couple of weeks, but I probably wouldn't get around to posting anything even if I was home, I'm so slack! Anyway, now onto my two great reviews:  
****  
_MoonAngel247_ – Thank you so much for reviewing and you're wonderful comments! It's great to hear that you've enjoyed it so far, and it's great encouragement in writing more… well, ignoring the fact that I haven't been able to update for quite a few weeks:)  
_pay-day1999_ – Wow, I'm so lucky to have a dedicated reviewer like you, the timing of your review doesn't matter, I was just really happy to hear from you:) Yeah, I've becoming a bit obsessed with D/G lately, I can't help it… but I don't know if I do them any justice, hehe. And, unfortunately for you, Draco is kinda in for a hard time up ahead… sorry, hehe. Thanks again!**

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**Chapter 23 – Crescendo **

Like Tara had said, the following day her and Harry, accompanied by Buffy, Tonks and Remus for assistance or protection from any unpleasant surprises, discretely travelled back to 4 Privet Drive, Little Whinging. They had spent the morning recovering from the New Year's Eve celebrations the night before, although some were still feeling the effects of it.

Harry smiled at the small convoy, he hadn't realised how many were going to come on the little adventure at first. Buffy, Tonks and Remus were just eager to get out and into a change of scenery.

Harry knocked on the door with a huge smile, realising that this would probably be one of the last times he'd even set foot in the house. Tara was directly to his right, standing on the doorstep next to him, the other four hung back on the footpath, not wanting to intrude on the conversation about to take place.

Petunia came to the door, dressed in her cooking apron. She looked shocked to see her nephew standing on the doorstep, with a stranger and several others in the background.

"What is all this?" She started with, looking around to see if the neighbours could see the unusual group in her front yard.

"Hello, Aunt Petunia," Harry began politely, ignoring her rudeness. "Could we come in?"

Petunia looked hesitant, but quickly signalled them all in order to get them out of the neighbour's sight.

Vernon was sitting in the lounge room, reading the daily newspaper; he looked up as the group entered.

"What on earth is going on? Aren't you supposed to be at that school, boy?" He addressed Harry, giving his companions a suspicious look.

"It's holidays." Harry explained simply.

"Still, we didn't think that you would be coming back here, especially with… _more_ of your kind. We're having over some very important clients tonight, I'm afraid _they_ can't stay."

Harry ignored his uncle's tone. "No, Uncle Vernon, we just came here to get all my things."

"But where are you going with your things? Your headmaster in that letter said that you had to stay here with us while you weren't at that school because of something to with my blood." Petunia pointed out with confusion.

"I know you never really wanted me here, but Dumbledore convinced you to in order to keep me alive. But now that's not necessary, I have someone else with the same blood to live with." Harry explained.

"Who would that be?" Petunia demanded with a frown.

Tara took that moment to step forward and make her presence known. "Hi, Aunt Petunia, Uncle Vernon. I'm Tara… Lily and James' eldest daughter, and Harry's older sister."

Both Vernon and Petunia's mouths were open wide at this comment, at loss for words.

Petunia shook off her shock. "I'm afraid you must be misinformed, that's not possible, my sister only had one child before she went got herself killed, where were you all that time? And you also look too old to be her child."

Tara shook her head. "I'm only twenty-one, m-meaning that I was born when my parents were seventeen and still at Hogwarts," Vernon visibly cringed at mention of the school. "I was then adopted out to a family in America, hence the accent."

"So… so you're one of them, I suppose." Vernon stated, giving the group a once over.

Having put up with their subtle and not so subtle hostility for the length of the conversation, Tara decided to get some pleasure in seeing them recoil at speaking the words Harry was always forbidden to mention. "A _witch_, you mean? Yes, I am a _witch_."

Vernon didn't look pleased at all and mumbled softly under his breath. "I'm glad Petunia doesn't take after the rest of the family, they're all a bunch of _psychotic_ nuts."

Both Remus and Buffy stepped forward defensively, at this Vernon looked uneasy and Petunia edged back, both unsure of what the two strangers were capable of.

"We've still got to get all my things." Harry pointed out, looking towards the others.

"Yeah, let's get out of here." Tara said, taking one more look at her Aunt and Uncle before following the rest of the group upstairs.

It didn't take long to gather up anything that Harry had left behind, because generally he took all the he owned to Hogwarts with him, never trusting the Dursley's.

Right before they were ready to depart, Harry quickly ran over to his bed, lifting up a loose floorboard. He produced a picture with three extremely happy people, smiling and waving.

"I can't believe that I almost forgot this… again. I was furious when I realised I'd left it _here_ at the start of the semester." He explained to Tara, who was standing directly behind him, looking over his shoulder at the photograph.

She gave a sad smile as she watched the content interaction between her parents and Harry, wishing that she had something similar of her own to treasure as much as Harry did.

"Ready now?" Buffy questioned from just outside the room, looking anxious to depart. Harry gave a quick nod, without even a moment's hesitation.

"Good riddance…" Harry whispered to himself as they set off for the Order Headquarters.

Harry couldn't wipe the grin off his face as the left, just thinking about what this now meant.

A new year. A new life.

* * *

Ginny had once again taken refuge in the deserted Mrs. Black's bedroom, avoiding the nagging of Mrs. Weasley and being played jokes on by Fred and George.

She hadn't really properly explored the room yet, so she poked around in the drawers of an antique dressing table, completely covered in dust that the piece looked as if it were naturally light grey.

The door opened, Ginny slammed shut the drawer she was peeping in and jumped away from the furniture. When she saw it was Malfoy again, she sighed disappointingly.

"Bloody hell! Is there ever a time when I can just come and get some peace and quiet in this house?" Draco asked with a scowl.

Her face heated up with anger, having not cooled off from the last argument. "Well excuse me! I'm actually the one who _you_ keep barging in on. Maybe you should see how it feels!"

She stomped over to the door, stepped outside and shut it behind her. Draco didn't hesitate for long before he clicked the lock in place, with a satisfied smirk on his face.

When Ginny realised how stupid she had just been by hearing the sound of the lock, she decided not to back down. She began thumping on the door and yelling at him.

Draco took a moment to enjoy listening to her extremely annoyed screams, before deciding that he was going to unlock the door again.

He unlocked the catch on the door and only seconds later Ginny came flying through the doorway, who was obviously trying to put all her weight on the door. Then the most amusing thing for anyone watching happened, Ginny bowled over Draco and landed on top of him with a loud thud.

There was sudden silence, after the racket that had just taken place. Both teenagers didn't move for a moment, until Draco spoke up.

"Well, Weasley, are you going to get off me?"

Ginny turned an instant shade of red to match her hair, immediately rolling over and pushing herself up off the floor.

Brushing himself off, Draco smirked. "Well, I don't think you quite proved your point."

Ginny tried to take hold of her embarrassment, deciding to change the topic. "W-where's that book? I suppose you've taken it and have read it."

Draco went over to the bed and produced the book out from under the mattress.

"Hmm, not exactly light reading, I'm sure Granger would enjoy reading this – the know it all one. And why would Potter and the other Granger be reading this?"

Ginny took the time to once again repossess the book by surprise, safely holding under her two crossed arms on her chest. "How am _I_ supposed to know? It's not as if they really include me in on anything."

Draco gave his trademark smirk at Ginny's tone and directness.

"You're getting more and more fiery everyday. I better watch out walking the corridors, someday you might hex me." He teased, however with not as much sarcasm as he would have liked.

Ginny smiled for a moment, then realising that her smile was bordering on flirtatious. She immediately mentally kicked herself, wondering if she was in the process of going insane. Trying to gain what dignity she has left, she swung around and left the room. She hadn't finished reading that book before it was hurled at Malfoy anyway.

* * *

After what seemed like forever because of the amount of dramas and discoveries, their time at 12 Grimmauld Place drew to a close and they were soon packing their things and preparing to start classes back at Hogwarts.

"Come on, you lot!" Mr. Weasley's voice echoed up from the entrance of the house.

Both he and Remus were waiting downstairs to escort the children back to Kings Cross Station. Whilst the rest had left their packing until the last minute, Draco had already done so and went to seek out the headmaster in the kitchen.

"Excuse me, Professor." Draco said loudly, interrupting him on a conversation with Sirius and Tara.

The headmaster immediately turned his attention with his twinkling eyes, Sirius, however, took the time to give Draco as suspicious glare, trying to see through him.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy?"

When Dumbledore spoke, Draco instantly dropped his defiant stare at Harry's godfather and turned his attention to the headmaster.

"Professor, I was just wondering… what will happen… after we return to Hogwarts?" Draco seemed hesitant in asking the question.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together. "Ah, I suppose what you are referring to is your housemates and your current situation."

Draco simply nodded.

"Well, although I'm sure they will have heard about your… domestic difficulties, shall I say, they will, however, need not know about where you have spent the past few weeks. However, it is up to you about what you wish to tell anyone who pries, but I'm sure you will think of something." Dumbledore stood up slowly, smiling quickly at Draco, Sirius and Tara. "Now, if you'll excuse me, Minerva is already at school, waiting for me so that we can sort some matters out before the students arrive."

As the headmaster walked away followed by Tara, Draco shook his head, thinking to himself sarcastically. "Well _that_ was useful, the old codger didn't help me one bit."

Just as he was turning to join the Gryffindors out in the hallway, the tall, dark-haired man stopped him, grabbing him roughly by the arm and glaring down at him from his height advantage.

"After having endured the suffering of growing up with your father I've learnt a few things, and I don't trust you at all. Whatever it is you're up to, just remember that I won't be far away, watching your every move." Sirius growled, his eyes very narrow. He then released the firm grip on Draco's arm.

Draco quickly rubbed his arm, deep in thought, however not breaking his stare from Sirius. "What is it with everyone threatening me?"

He finally spoke up to retort. "I wouldn't be so quick to talk, Black. One word from me, and you could find yourself on the wrong end of a Dementor's Kiss."

Draco smirked satisfactorily at himself for holding his own against the older man, although he had no intention of carrying out the threat he'd used to retaliate with. He swung around quickly and exited the room.

* * *

The first thing on Buffy and Willow's agenda, once they returned to Hogwarts, was to visit Giles in the Hospital Wing. There had been no progress made by Madam Pomfrey in finding any ways of reversing the effects of Glory's brain tampering on her victims.

"Although I haven't been able to find a cure, I did notice something odd while you were gone," Madam Pomfrey explained as Buffy and Willow exited the room where Giles and the other victims were being looked after. "There have been times when they have all displayed great nervousness and seemed very disturbed, mainly around Christmas Day, however they have calmed down recently, just before the New Year."

Buffy looked at Willow. "Well, things have been amazingly quiet at the moment, it's strange that they seem to be calm at the same. Maybe they have some sort of connection with what's going on at the moment."

Willow nodded. "Yes, this could have something to do with Glory, I mean, she's the one who made them like this in the first place."

Madam Pomfrey was silent in thought for a moment before addressing Willow. "Oh, I almost forgot to ask, how is your researching into the matter going?"

Willow's eyes widened when a sudden inspiration jumped into her head. "That's it!"

"Huh? What's it, Will?" Buffy frowned.

"I think there's something I've been overlooking all this time, and it might be just the solution we need!" She cried excitedly, running off to her room very abruptly.

* * *

Dumbledore sat as his desk, scribbling away on a rather lengthy piece of parchment. He looked up as he heard his office door open to reveal the Potions Master entering. Dumbledore immediately set up any precautions to ensure that any conversation wouldn't be overheard in any way.

"Evening, headmaster. I thought I should let you know that I just got back." Snape explained, choosing to remain standing instead of taking the seat in front of Dumbledore's desk.

"Ah, yes. And is there anything new to report, Severus?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Well, it's not the fact that there is anything important to report that made me come and see you, it's the lack of information that brought me here." Snape explained.

Dumbledore did something that he rarely did, he frowned slightly. "There's nothing at all to report?" He seemed surprised by this.

Snape gave a quick nod. "Yes, they would share nothing with me, pretending that there was nothing being planned at the moment. But, it seemed to me as though there is something happening and they're trying hard to keep it secret by not telling anyone who doesn't need to know."

Dumbledore sighed. "That is not good news, Severus. Although I still think it is important to keep trying to discover what it is they are planning, without, drawing any attention to yourself, of course."

"As you wish, headmaster." Snape replied, gliding out of the office.

* * *

Harry took a moment to lounge back on the couch in the Gryffindor Common Room and ponder all the changes that had occurred over the past few weeks. When he left Hogwarts for the Christmas break, as much as he hated it, he still called the Dursley's home, Tara was just his Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Dawn was just a friend, Malfoy was a sworn enemy for the other side and now he didn't know where he stood with any of it.

"A penny for you thoughts?" Dawn asked, collapsing on the chair next to him.

Harry snapped out of his reverie. "I was just thinking."

Dawn chuckled slightly. "Obviously."

She then sat forward, gazing around the empty room just in case. "Well… I don't know about you, Harry, but I just can't sit around calmly while Malfoy has that book. I've gotta get it back off him somehow."

"Well I don't think it would be a good idea if you ambushed him in the corridor and forced him to give it back to you, it would draw too much attention." Harry pointed out.

Dawn put her hand on her hip impatiently. "Then what do _you_ suggest! Uh… sorry, Harry." She immediately apologised for the rude tone in her voice, pretending and watching what she said around everyone was taking its toll.

Harry shook his head. "Don't worry, it's okay. I think I have an idea."

"An idea for what?" A third voice entered the conversation as two curious redheads appeared behind the couch.

"I don't know, George," A fourth voice replied, cheekily. "But maybe these two love-birds here a planning a 'trip' to the Shrieking Shack to endorse its name, if you know what I mean."

Harry looked slightly pink and Dawn wrinkled up her nose in disgust, giving the Weasley twins both a thump over the head before giving them an earful. "You are both very perverted!"

"It's what we do best." George explained with a twisted grin.

Fred elbowed his twin in the side. "Hey, George. Better still, they didn't deny it or the 'love-birds' part!"

The two tricksters ran off laughing before either Harry or Dawn could dignify that with an answer. They both just shook their heads, learning to ignore whatever the twins said or did.

"Um, so what's your idea?" Dawn asked, getting back to their conversation.

Harry shrugged. "Well, I guess I'm going to have to get the book off Malfoy myself."

* * *

**A.N – Well, not really a cliffhanger. I haven't really done a big one in a while, but there will be some whoppers soon smiles evilly. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and please please please, hit that review button. gets down on her knees and begs. Yes, it's resulted in begging and repeating words several times over! And while I'm at it, one more please for the road. Thanks – Akalea :)**


	25. Hurt Like Hell

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: It's been a while… but if you read my profile, you'll see all the reasons and that I promised to finish this story, and that I shall do. So I really hope that you enjoy this chapter. Oh, and Uni over here has finished for the year so I have a couple of months of free time… hopefully more writing. :)  
And all I can say is, good ol' yahoo… used it to come up with a suitable password for Tara's room. Ended up with 'Hecate' which is the Greek god of Sorcery/Magic, or so the website told me. Kind of makes me appreciate all the background research and preparation that both Joss and J.K go through, wow they must be so dedicated.  
Once again, thank you so much to _pay-day1999_ for reviewing time after time… I'm really glad you enjoyed the last chapter; I was quite pleased with how all the interactions turned out. As for Draco, the worst is still yet to come for him… that's all I can say.**

**As for reviews, I am in desperate need of encouragement from more different people as well. I was looking at the stats, many people have this story in their favourites list, and yet I don't think I've ever received any comments or suggestions from them. I would love it though. Please, if I could hear from you I don't think their would be such a long wait in between chapters because I would feel more motivated and make the time for this story.**

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**Chapter 24 – Hurt Like Hell**

It was not long before the students had returned from spending their Christmas with their families, where they had received many presents and enjoyed the company of their parents and siblings. Well, not all of the students had been with their families during this time. One such student was Draco Malfoy. No, he'd spent the better part of Christmas Eve tracing through the freezing, wet snow in an attempt to escape his family.

Those actions had also had an effect on his life back at Hogwarts. News had travelled fast, and most of the Slytherins has already heard from their parents about how Draco had turned his back on his family and by doing that, ultimately, Voldemort. But of course many students in the other houses hadn't bought into that story and remained skeptical.

Draco walked the halls alone, which most still found extremely odd as he usually had his two shadows, Crabbe and Goyle, following not far behind.

However, it wasn't long before the first morning before classes, when he was walking the halls that someone filled in one of the voids left by Crabbe and Goyle. Since Draco was deep in thought, the made their presence noticed by throwing their hand casually on his shoulder.

"Hey, Malfoy. What's this I hear to about you leaving home?" The tall, dark-haired Blaise Zabini questioned.

Draco quickly shrugged his hand off. "Well, what exactly have you heard, Zabini?"

"Well, I mainly overheard my parents discussing it, they'd been talking to your parents and were saying something about you going missing on Christmas Eve," Blaise paused for a moment as another thought came to him. "Uh, where exactly did you go?"

Draco wiped his face of any expressions or emotions, which he did regularly, in order to make what he was about to say more believable.

"Well if you must know, Zabini, nowhere slightly exciting," Draco stated, which was basically the truth because he'd found Grimmauld Place to be a bore. "Ended up at some hole of a place in Muggle London… just needed to get away for a while."

Blaise seemed satisfied by this answer and gave a slight nod. "What about your parents, have you contacted them yet?"

Draco took this time to pull out his timetable and glance at it, trying to seem as casual about the whole thing as possible.

"I suppose I will owl them soon." He revealed, although he really had no intention of doing so.

* * *

Harry sat at breakfast that morning, intently watching the happenings of the Slytherin table, more specifically watching Draco Malfoy like a hawk. He had been trying the past few days to formulate a plan on getting the book back.

Should he just inconspicuously hex him in a corridor while he was alone and getting the book back that way. Who was he kidding; there was no way of doing that without drawing any attention from any of the Order members. On top of that dilemma, Harry couldn't be sure of whether he would be carrying the book with him.

Dawn gave him a quick bump on the arm to break him out of his reverie.

"You're staring too much, someone will notice that something's up." He heard whispered quietly in his ear, while the breath against his ear sent shivers down his spine and brought a small smile across his face.

"Oh no, Hermione, look at that." Both Dawn and Harry heard from across the table, which came from Ron. "Now they're whispering sweet nothings into each others ears."

Both Hermione and Ron chuckled a little, receiving clueless and confused looks from the two sitting across from them.

"Why do they always play ignorant?" Hermione spoke out loud, continuing to butter her toast.

Although they were lying to Hermione and Ron, Dawn could still see the humour in the situation. Whilst her and Harry were always discussing their secret and anything related to that topic, everyone else had the tendency to mistake it for something else. Although, she couldn't argue the fact that having kept this information from everyone had brought her and Harry closer.

She just paused for a moment and then also resumed nibbling on her jam toast. Meanwhile, a large grey barn owl swiftly flew its way around the roof, descending on the table nearby. It shuffled its way up the table, while accidentally knocking over a glass or two. The owl stopped its way in front of Harry, holding out its leg to him.

Harry hastily took the parchment from the owl and it flew off contently.

"That owl has rotten timing," Ron pointed out as he looked at the letter curiously. "Considering all of the other owls delivered their post before we started eating… and not to mention, it also spilt my orange juice."

"What does it say, Harry?" Hermione inquired as she played the mother and poured Ron another orange juice to silence him.

"I could get used to this." She vaguely heard Ron say, however she was still focused on Harry, waiting for his reply.

Harry quickly unfolded the parchment to reveal the words: _My room is located on the 2nd floor, near the staff room. Look for the portrait of the very first Quidditch match. Password is 'Hecate'. Please feel free to come and see me whenever._

He looked up towards the teachers' table, knowing exactly who had sent the message, even though he didn't recognise the writing, although that was expected.

Tara subtly turned away from her conversation with Snape and Anya, in which Snape seemed particularly sour and uncomfortable from listening to Anya and her antics.

She gave Harry a small smile to acknowledge that the message was hers and that she'd meant what she had said. Harry returned the favour and then broke eye contact with her to quickly scan around the room to see if anyone had noticed this small exchange.

Tara and Harry, under the advisement of Dumbledore, had decided that it would be best if they kept quiet about what they'd discovered over the Christmas break. It would draw too much attention from everyone, and not to mention what Voldemort would do if he gained knowledge of this.

That was just something that they weren't willing to deal with right now.

* * *

Willow, Xander and Anya sat around a table in the staff room, not long before classes were due to start. Books were in disarray across the whole surface. Buffy rushed into the room, frantically dashing around the room to gather all her teaching materials.

"Hey guys, why are you all sitting around now? Will, class is about to begin… Wow, listen to myself… I was never this eager to go to class when we were back at Sunnydale High - what is happening to me?" Buffy joked, which earned a chuckle from Xander and Anya.

"You wouldn't be so eager to get to class if you had to work with Hagrid… I've dealt with demons less harmful than some of the creatures he makes me look after, and the burn on my-" Anya began to complain, however Xander quickly intervened with a nudge on the arm. "Uh, leg, still hasn't healed."

Buffy smiled as she observed Xander and Anya's interactions, then turning her attention towards Willow. "So, how's that brainwave working for you at the moment?"

Willow hesitated, however it didn't take long for Anya to jump in. "Do you want me to tell her the bad news? Xander always says I'm good at being blunt," Willow nodded in response. "Well, you're not going to like this, Buffy, but if you don't want those insanely nutty people to be that way forever, you can't kill Glory."

Buffy put her hands on her hip in frustration. "But we only have two options: let Glory to find the Key and wreak havoc, then give the Key to Voldemort so he can wreak even more havoc, or kill Glory and hopefully that will help to keep the Key safe. I vote for the second option."

Xander spoke up. "I understand, Buff, after what she's done to Giles and the others, I would vote for the most violent option in killing Glory too…"

"But we can't do that," Willow finished off. "Just think about when Glory does that brain-sucking thing – it's like she's taking a very important part of their minds. And that part has to go somewhere… I believe that it is somehow integrated into her head and she uses it for energy… but I don't think that it is used up or destroyed."

"Then how come Glory needs to keep brain-sucking to maintain her energy if the victim's minds aren't used up?" Buffy questioned.

Willow sighed and gave a small shrug; many things didn't make sense to her. "I don't know, the only reason I could think of is that these minds begin to put up a fight."

"Wouldn't that explain her insanity, all these different voices or minds trying to fight their way out?" Xander suggested logically.

"We need a vessel," Willow said leaving a short silence, the others looked at her inquisitively. "Someone who is able to create a connection between Glory and the person, to give somewhere for their minds to travel back across and to where they belong. Kind of like a salt bridge in a Galvanic cell."

Buffy, Xander and Anya stared at her blankly for several moments until Willow noticed. "Sorry, it's the nerd in me coming out again," She explained, and then jokingly hit her head a few times. "Get back in there!"

Buffy smiled. "Anyway… who will act as the 'vessel'?"

Willow stopped smiling. "Unfortunately, I haven't worked that part out yet."

"We should tell Dumbledore and everyone else all this after class."

The four occupants of the staff room quickly left to go to their different parts of the castle.

* * *

After the final class for the day, Ginny walked along the corridor with Luna Lovegood, hearing her ramble on about Aquavirious Maggots, which she mentioned often. Ginny spent the time nodding appreciatively. Although she was skeptical about some of the odd things Luna came out with, she considered Luna a good friend to spend time with, especially if she was sick of Ron's antics.

"Well Luna, I better get back to my common room. See you at dinner." Ginny spoke up, giving Luna a smile before they both went their separate ways.

As she rounded one of the next corners, quietly humming to herself, a voice resonated from the shadows, causing Ginny to jump back in fright, clutching her chest.

"It's about time," The voice drawled, bouncing off the walls of the deserted corridor. "I thought Looney Lovegood would never leave."

Ginny whipped around to glare at Draco. "Okay, now I'm really concerned for my wellbeing. Were you stalking me, Malfoy?"

Draco smirked. "Don't flatter yourself, Weasley," But although he wouldn't admit it, not even to himself, he did spend several moments just standing in the shadows watching her. "I just came here to give you this, and I thought you wouldn't want me giving it to you while Lovegood was still there."

He held out the dusty, green-leather book and waited impatiently for her to take it. However, she stood there staring at him, completely bemused.

"Go on," He urged emotionlessly, keeping a straight face. "Otherwise I could return you the favour of hauling it at _your_ head."

She grabbed the book swiftly, but not after a moment's hesitation. However, it didn't take her long to accept the book without any questions, after all it wasn't even hers in the first place. Which made her wonder how it had come into Dawn's possession and why she had it, the book talked about some mystical 'Key' that carried an awfully strong amount of power and something about it being green light in its true form.

Ginny broke her string of thoughts, realising that both she and Draco Malfoy were both standing there silently, and more importantly, they weren't throwing insults or hexes each other's way.

"…I suppose you're happy now, to be back here again." She decided to break the silence by recalling back to how he spent his time complaining or hidden away at Order Headquarters.

For a second she though she saw a flicker of discomfort in his body language in response to the question, however, it was soon wiped clean off his face.

"Of course I am, Weasley. Anything is better than that filthy, disgusting place." He answered confidently.

It was then that she gave him a smirk, almost so uncannily like his own that he was quite concerned. "You're lying, Malfoy," She said simply, before continuing again. "I think you didn't have as bad a time as you put on."

"You don't know what you're talking about, Weasley." He was quick to defend.

Ginny put her hands up in defeat. "Alright then," He voice dripping with sarcasm. "… You're absolutely, one-hundred percent right."

"Now we're seeing eye to eye." He retorted arrogantly, however Ginny noticed that his voice carried what could only be described as a light quality to it, well as light as a Malfoy could sound.

"Anyway," She began uncomfortably, shifting her feet. "Better go back to the common room… Ron almost acts like a second mother sometimes." She could see that Draco got some entertainment out of this comment.

"Thank you for actually giving me this back." She finished genuinely, displaying the book in her hand.

"No trouble." He said equally uncomfortable, shortly before spinning around and confidently striding down the corridor.

* * *

Harry remembered back to his second year, when he and the other three had spent time brewing up the Polyjuice Potion. Dawn had stayed back with her miss-transformed sister, whilst he and Ron had gone to the Slytherin Common Room. He was now wandering up and down the hallways, trying to re-jog his memory of those events.

He had concocted some excuse to Ron and Hermione about sending an owl to Sirius, given Dawn a look to indicate that he was up to something, before quickly leaving the common room without drawing to much attention to himself.

"Was it left or right from here?" He asked himself, his memory of that day three years ago was failing him.

"Potter," A voice from behind spat, Harry spun around to face his nemesis, Malfoy. "What brings you to this part of the castle, especially without the Mudbloods and the Weasel? You wouldn't happen to be looking for someone… or more importantly something? A book… perhaps?"

Harry whipped out his wand and stepped closer in one swift moment, which he thought must have looked quite intimidating. "Okay Malfoy, I'll make you a deal: give me the book and I won't be forced to throw any nasty hexes at you."

Draco pretended to consider this bargaining for a moment before answering. "No… can't do that, Potter. Doesn't look like you're in a position to bargain, since you seem to want the book so desperately."

"How did I know this wouldn't be easy?" Harry asked himself disappointedly.

"Oh no, but it's going to get harder, Potter. You see, I did my research and this particular book belongs in the Restricted Section of the library, and the book has been reported missing by Madam Pince, so that rules out the idea that a teacher allowed you to get it… maybe I should give it to Dumbledore and see what he thinks about all this."

Harry laughed at this. "That's fine with me, I don't care if I even get a years worth of detentions."

Dawn took that particular moment to step in; it was obvious that she had been following Harry after he'd left the common room. "Harry, no!" She called out in dread.

Draco rolled his eyes when he saw Dawn had come to join the argument. Harry turned around and walked over to Dawn.

"We can't let him do that," She whispered just loud enough that Harry could hear. "Otherwise things would become complicated… they might find out. If no one else knows then I'm safe."

Draco watched the exchange with interest, although he could not hear what was being said. There was something extremely peculiar about this whole situation, all this over a book. More importantly, he got the impression that there was something more; they were concerned about more than just getting into trouble with Dumbledore. He decided to test that theory, just to see how they would react on top of what they had already done.

"Well, I think I'll just leave you two to your pathetic conversations and go for a walk… hmm, Dumbledore's Office is sounding good…" He trailed off; as he turned around to walk away he heard both Harry and Dawn cry out in distress.

"Malfoy!" He heard Dawn's voice scream out to stop him.

She persisted again, this time as she did so he decided to turn around and observe the state he'd left the two Gryffindors in. As he turned around, his eyes burned at the intense green energy that shot out from Dawn. The energy rocketed towards him at a great speed, hitting him directly in the chest, causing him to be thrown several feet across the corridor. He then collided with a nearby stone statue, made unconscious on impact.

Both Dawn and Harry's eyes opened up, wide with terror.

"Shit! Oh my god!" Dawn panicked, bringing her hands up to he face in shock.

Harry turned to glance at her, with a look on his face that she couldn't quite place. Was it fear? Shock? Amazement? She didn't get long to stand there and figure it out. They heard a couple of voices travelling up the corridor adjacent to the one there were in.

"Dawn, we have to get out of here!" Harry yelled, pulling her by the arm.

**

* * *

A.N – Hmm, well… so that's it for now. I hope this chapter is still to the same standard as before (or even better would be good!). Remember what I said, if you want me to actually finish this story without taking another 2 years, please give me some encouragement (especially if you haven't reviewed before). Thanks for reading! -Akalea :)**


	26. Secrets Will Only Tear Us Apart

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: I'm back again! I didn't make you wait too long, did I? Well this wait was a tiny grain of sand compared to how long I made you wait for last chapter. We're really getting into the good bit now, which I've had in my mind for the longest time and now I finally get to write it! Woohoo! This is just an estimation, but I imagine that maybe this will be a 30 chapter story, or something around that length.  
As for reviews, I know that they've got the reply option, which I've already tried to answer Spacehog26's review… but I've decided to continue to answer them the way I have been, for now:**

**_Spacehog26 – _Just wanted to thank you again for the review even though I've already replied to your review through the new reply option. So thanks:)****_Shadowglove – _Yay, thanks… it's great to hear all your wonderful comments! It made my day… and no you didn't bore me with your review, you could write twice as much as what you did if you like, I love to hear back from people. I'm glad to hear that you've stuck with the story even though you don't really like Ginny/Draco. You're definitely more patient than me; if there's a pairing I don't like in a story usually I can't bring myself to read it… unless it's really well written. Hehe. I just completely crapped on, didn't I?  
_Naitch03_ – Thanks for the review! You're a star! I hope I didn't make you wait too long, I think I just have to admit that I'm a slow writer.**

* * *

**Chapter 25 – Secrets Will Only Tear Us Apart **

Dawn had barely had time to comprehend what had happened before she found herself running away in panic. But she wasn't even paying any attention to where her legs were taking her, she just followed Harry as they twisted and turned through the corridors. Before she knew it, he had lead her into the Room of Requirement, which seemed like the best place to catch their breaths.

When they stopped, Dawn hunched over with her hands resting on her legs gasping in massive amounts of oxygen. She peered over at Harry; he was also exhausted and quite red in the face.

"What happened back there?" He quizzed, still staring at her with a shocked face.

Dawn brought both her hands up to her nose so that her fingertips dug into the corner of her eyes. "I-I… don't know… I had no control… I got angry and desperate, I couldn't let him take that book to Dumbledore and the… power just surged out."

"Somehow I think that's the least of our worries now," Harry bluntly pointed out, exasperated from the whole event. "What will happen when Malfoy tells Dumbledore about _this _now?"

"I d-d-…" Dawn trailed off, bursting into a constant flow of tears.

Harry quickly felt guilty for his accusative tone and walked over to pull her into a comforting embrace.

"W-will he… be… al…right?" Dawn managed. "His… head…"

"I never thought I would say this about Malfoy, but I hope so…" Harry answered as he rubbed his hand in a circular motion in the middle of her back. "Although, we can only hope that the hit on the head causes him to forget what happened."

Dawn pulled away, gradually slowing her frantic breathing down. "What if he remembers? W-what then?"

Harry shook his head hopelessly. "Then we will have to tell Dumbledore," He paused when he saw Dawn's anxious look. "I think he will figure it all out soon anyway."

Dawn closed her eyes for a moment, visibly took a deep breath and opened her eyes again. "W-we should go back to the common room, you said you were only sending an owl and we don't want to draw too much attention right now… until we know the effects of this."

Harry gave an agreeing nod, awkwardly reached down and took her much smaller hand in his own and gave it a soothing squeeze. "You're right, just take some time to calm down on the way back and Ron will be oblivious to anything happening… your sister's the one we have to work harder to convince…"

* * *

"I'm starting to think that we'll never stop Glory." Buffy revealed as both she and Xander made their way down to the kitchens for a snack before dinner.

"Why do you say that?" Xander asked turning to look at her.

Buffy sighed. "Well as much as it pains me, I can't just go and kick some Glory butt now. And what are the chances of stopping her long enough to cure Giles and that?"

Xander patted her on the shoulder encouragingly. "Hey, you're not the one who's supposed to be all pessimistic out of the Scoobies, I think that job more falls to Anya with her tact… don't tell her I said that or she may give back the ring." He joked in which Buffy smiled in response.

"I guess all of our roles have changed lately," Buffy pointed out. "Have you noticed the change in Tara? Just spending the last couple of months here… she seems happier, and a lot more confident."

Xander nodded. "I think that has something to do with her finding out about her brother… would make a good 'Passions' episode… have you talked to Harry much?"

Buffy shrugged with indecision. "I haven't really had much chance to sit down and talk to him properly, but he seems like a cool kid… very honest and responsible…"

She let her voice trail off as something both caught their eyes, there was something crumpled up against the wall in the corridor ahead. Both of the two friends immediately picked up their pace to investigate the scene ahead of them. As the approached the thing, they were able to identify it as being an unconscious person, sprawled on the ground.

"What the hell happened here?" Buffy asked as she knelt down and turned over the person.

"Isn't that…" Xander trailed off.

"Malfoy," Buffy confirmed with a nod, gazing down at the sizeable bruise developing on his forehead. "But what happened to him?"

"Well… it looks like he's been knocked unconscious on that statue." Xander observed pointing to the extensively wide crack on the statue they were standing next to.

They turned suddenly when they heard a cry of horror from further down the hall. "What in Merlin's name has happened here?" Professor McGonagall cried out.

Buffy rose to her feet. "We're as baffled as you are, Professor. We just found him a minute ago."

"Well," McGonagall began as she too observed Draco's injuries. "He must be taken to Poppy immediately."

Buffy and Xander gave nods of agreement as McGonagall pulled out her wand from her robes. She was about to mutter a levitation spell when Buffy knelt down and scooped the Slytherin up in her arms with little effort.

"A slayer's gotta be good for something." Buffy stated when she saw McGonagall's surprised face, which served as a reminder to the much older woman that Buffy possessed abnormal Slayer strength.

"Well then, I will go and inform Albus, and then we can perhaps shed some light onto this whole event." McGonagall said before taking off in the direction from which she had come.

* * *

With any emotions of previous events scrubbed from her face, Dawn hesitantly followed Harry into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione was reading, as usual, and Ron had conned Neville into a chess match, even though Neville knew he didn't have a chance in the world at beating him. Ron looked up as they entered.

"Left separately, but you come back together." He pointed out suggestively, giving Harry a small slap on the back as he took a seat on the couch next to him.

Harry gave him an impatient look, after all he had just been through, he didn't want to listen to Ron's banter. "I ran into her while I was on the way back from the owlery."

Dawn was silent, who had succumbed to her racing mind. She vaguely felt someone nudging her arm softly. It took her several seconds before she actually acknowledged this, turning to notice her twin, staring at her with concern.

"Are you alright, Dawnie?" Hermione asked fretfully, her book pushed aside.

She gave a nod, which she was sure wasn't very convincing, and could see Harry watching her from out of the corner of her eye. Hermione glanced at her for several more seconds before realising that Dawn wasn't going to budge, or give away any thoughts presently going through her mind.

"Don't worry, Dawn," Neville reassured as he ordered his bishop to move. "I didn't do very well on the Potions essay either."

Dawn gave a small smile in response, mainly due to the fact that Neville's misunderstanding was enough to excuse her mood and get the attention away from her.

All five of them, as well as the rest of the busy common room, gazed up at the sight of Professor McGonagall emerging through the Portrait Hole. As McGonagall didn't visit the common room very often, silence was quick to fall over the room as they gave her undivided attention.

"Although dinner is not far off, I believe it is better to talk to all of you here," She explained. "As head of Gryffindor, I must inform you that there has been an attack on a student."

Dawn's head snapped quickly to look at Harry, who had done the exact same thing, and they exchanged worried glances. They then turned their attention back to McGonagall, hoping no one noticed their exchange.

"This _Slytherin_ student was discovered a short moment ago," She accentuated the house as she continued on. "And knowing the rivalry between this house and Slytherin, I certainly hope that none of my own students are responsible. However, I urge anyone who may have any information to please see either the headmaster or myself. Thank you."

And with that, McGonagall turned on her heel and immediately departed. A murmur amongst the students was quick to start up in her wake.

Ginny came over to join the group; having come down the stairs to the dormitories, just moments before McGonagall's short speech.

"Hey," She greeted, flopping into a nearby chair. "Dow anyone know what that was all about? Who was the student attacked?"

Before anyone else could respond, Parvati and Lavender had heard Ginny's inquiries from close by and were quick to interrupt.

"Well," Parvati began in her best gossip voice. "We were just talking to Seamus and he said that he was on the way back from the library just before, and her saw Professor Summers and Professor Harris. Seamus said Professor Summers was carrying Malfoy and he appeared to be unconscious."

Dawn raised her eyebrows, Parvati and Lavender's gossiping never failed to amaze her, it had been about half an hour since the incident and now it wouldn't be long before the whole common room discovered the 'attack' was on Malfoy.

Both Dawn and Harry couldn't help but throw numerous apprehensive glances at each other. At present, Dawn was terrified about her impending fate – would they soon figure it all out? Would then both Voldemort and Glory be after her? All the while, these glances they exchanged, didn't go unnoticed.

* * *

Draco's eyes fluttered open groggily as he came to from his unprepared episode of unconsciousness. He sat bolt upright, realising that he was in the Hospital Wind. His face fell into a deep frown as he attempted to recall the last events, leading up to before he woke up here. However, these thoughts were quickly interrupted as Madam Pomfrey was standing over his bed, prepared to make some obligatory examinations.

She began examining a nasty gash on the side of his head, with his usually light blonde hair stained read in the surrounding area.

"Please sit still, Mr. Malfoy." She ordered more that requested as he absentmindedly attempted to swat away her hands, while he scanned his brain for answers.

He gritted his teeth, trying to hide the pain, as Madam Pomfrey began to perform some cleaning and healing spells around the wound. His head felt as if it had been bashed against a brick wall.

"That's because it has!" A voice in his head appeared as it suddenly all came flooding back to him, as Madam Pomfrey wandered off, distracted by something brewing in her office.

"How's your head?" A voice appeared unexpectedly, as Ginny stepped around the privacy curtains. This startled him, causing him to grip the sides of the bed firmly for a moment.

Although at risk of sounding childish, she taunted him. "Ha! That's payback for almost scaring the magic right out of me earlier, Malfoy."

He stared at her with a look that was a mixture of deep annoyance and disbelief. "Weasley, I find it hard to believe that you came here to wish me a quick recovery."

Ginny looked offended. "Just because you wouldn't ever do something like that, doesn't mean that I wouldn't."

After receiving an incredulous look from him, she confessed. "Okay, I do have an ulterior motive… I came to get some information from you. What happened to you?"

"Potter and his bloody girlfriend," He spat out as he recalled the events. "What is so special about that book, since everyone seems so _desperate_ to get it."

Ginny frowned. "Wait a second, are you saying that Harry and Dawn attacked you? I noticed they were acting weird, but that still doesn't make any sense."

"Yes it does," He retorted with frustration. "Because 'Saint Potter' isn't as innocent and precious as everyone seems to think, for some stupid reason he could murder a house elf and get away with it. But anyway…" He paused, as if considering whether or not to finish his sentence.

"Anyway what?" Ginny inquired, knowing that she had been way too nosey already, but decided to push her luck. She was surprised on how much he had opened up and admitted already without the stubbornness and insults.

"He must have hit his head too hard." She rationalised to herself.

He hesitated momentarily. "I suppose I can't let Scarhead get the credit for something he didn't do… all he could do was give completely pathetic threats but couldn't carry them out himself…"

"So if Harry only threatened you…" She thought out loud, taking a step closer to the bed, deciding her legs needed a break, and seated herself on the end corner of the bed. "Did… did Dawn do anything?"

Although he wouldn't readily admit that he was defeated by a girl, he felt like he needed to tell someone so that Harry wouldn't get the credit for it. The thing that puzzled him the most was that he was telling all this to the youngest Weasley.

"I said that I was going to give the book to Dumbledore because they seemed so desperate to get that sodding book. I was walking away… then I turned around to see the Mudblood glow," he frowned as he described it, as did Ginny but at the use of 'Mudblood'. "This green energy came flying at me, and that's the last thing I saw."

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. "I have noticed some odd things happening lately… Harry and Dawn have been so secretive, kept to themselves. But how can Dawn have all that power, where did it come from?"

Draco impatiently kicked back the hospital bed sheets, and shrugged casually. "How am I supposed to know, Weasley? They still think I have that book, so I'll probably be seeing them again very soon."

"The book!" Ginny cried out with a sudden epiphany. She immediately reproduced the green book from an inner pocket of her robes, and began flicking through the book.

As she trailed her fingers along the lines on the pages, she spoke the words off the pages without looking up. "In its natural state, the Key exists as green energy… the Key contains more power than any one witch or wizard… although it is referred to as 'the Key', the Key can be made to take the form of anything, living or not…"

"Well that's all very interesting, Weasley," Draco replied with a hint of sarcasm, which came almost naturally. "But where exactly does Granger fit into all of that?"

Ginny looked up from the book. "Don't you see the connections? I think, I could be wrong about this, but… I think she might be this 'key' the book is written about," seeing Draco's look, she decided to explain further. "Well she blasts you with a considerable amount of _green_ power… and the Key can take any form… even human, I suppose."

"If that's the case, I'm guessing that Dumbledore doesn't know, considering how I ended up unconscious when I threatened to tell the old git about the book… hmm, what about Voldemort? I suppose he would be very interested in getting hold of that sort of power… surprised he hasn't taken Granger yet. Unless, of course, he doesn't know." He pointed out logically.

At this though, Ginny's eyes widened and she shuffled from her seat at the end of the bed up closer to the head of the bed. "You're not going to tell Dumbledore or anyone else are you?" She panicked. "You can't – Dawn is my friend, and a good person… she could be in danger. So, please… please don't tell anyone."

She felt as if she could almost step back and laugh at her current situation, she was practically begging to Draco Malfoy. There was a silence and she half expected him to snap out of the almost civil manner he was in, and then sneer and laugh at her. She was surprised that he hadn't already; she had no reason to trust him.

"Then why did I just say all that with him in my presence?" She mentally kicked herself. "Oh no… I've probably just sold Dawn over to Voldemort!"

She watched him as he considered his options.

"Please…" She found herself repeating, to help his decision-making. She then remembered how he had abandoned his family over Christmas, and that gave her some hope that the secret was safe.

Draco sighed with irritation. "It doesn't affect me either way… But okay, Weasley… I'll keep my mouth shut."

She smiled and cried out with relief as she automatically threw her arms around him, like she would often do so to her friends and family. Several seconds later, she realised and pulled away with embarrassment, feeling her face heat up. She mumbled an apology almost inaudibly, studying his expression.

Draco hadn't even flinched, and looked at her with a blank expression, his face giving away nothing although inside he was think to himself: "Why on earth do I keep doing her favours… even before I hit my head?"

She felt awkward, not having anything else left to say and with so much to ponder over. She withdrew herself from the area, pausing at the curtains before she disappeared from out of sight.

"Thank you… Draco." She said softly before nervously scurrying out of sight.

* * *

After leaving Malfoy in Madam Pomfrey's care, Buffy and Xander went to find Professor Dumbledore without delay. They found both him and Tara in discussion in the corridor near his office.

"Ah, Buffy," Dumbledore greeted when he noticed their presence. "Tara here was just telling me about your defeat of the beings called 'The Gentleman'. A fascinating tale…"

Buffy apologised for not being able to have input into the story at the present time before addressing the current situation. "Xander and I have just come from the Hospital Wing. We found Draco Malfoy completely out cold in one of the halls, with a pretty bad gash on his head."

"Oh, and that statue's gonna need fixing." Xander included.

"And you don't know the circumstances as to how this occurred?" Dumbledore inquired as he led them back in the direction of the Hospital Wing.

Buffy shook her head. "He still hadn't come to when we left to find you."

When they arrived at the Hospital Wing, Draco was eager to leave and attempting to get off the hospital bed, while Madam Pomfrey was patiently trying to stop him. Both stopped what they were doing when they noticed the headmaster entering with Buffy, Xander and Tara. Tara noted that he seemed unpleased at the sight of Dumbledore, and the fact of the matter was that Draco had planned on leaving to avoid Dumbledore. No such luck.

"Not one of your more better past months, wouldn't you agree, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore used as a greeting.

"Definitely not, sir." He decided to humour the old man in hopes that the conversation would be over shortly.

"What happened? Xander and I found you in the hall earlier." Buffy asked, cutting right to the chase.

"I don't know, Professor," He lied, which came easy to him. "I don't remember… I just woke up here."

The bandage on his head that had been applied moments earlier was enough to support this statement whether it was true or not, so they had no reason to not believe him.

"Is he alright, Poppy?" Dumbledore asked Pomfrey.

"The wound on his head was particularly horrible, however, I've just cleaned it up with some healing and anti-infection spells and it should heal in time. I've also checked for concussion and he was lucky this time round." She explained.

Only a moment later, Tara took in a large gasp of air, stepping back with her eyes closed. Xander was the only thing stopped her from crashing to the ground; he steadied her by placing his hands on both her shoulders.

"Tara, are you okay?" Buffy asked as they all watched on with concern.

She reopened her eyes, and brought her breathing back to normal. "I-I'm fine."

They watched her for several more moments just to be sure, after the incident was forgotten the attention was turned back to Draco.

"Headmaster," He began pushing himself to sit on the edge of the bed. "I'm rather hungry, could I be excused and head down to dinner?"

Dumbledore nodded benevolently. "If, of course, Madam Pomfrey allows you to leave."

Madam Pomfrey gave a defeated sigh. "I suppose I am finished for now, but do come back tomorrow morning before classes so I can check up on you."

Once he had quietly left and Madam Pomfrey had returned into her office area, Tara turned the attention back to her.

"Something's not right there," She explained. "J-just before, I felt something… like there was extremely strong energy residue surrounding Malfoy just now."

Dumbledore seemed exceptionally intrigued by this and took several moments to consider it. "It seems like we may need to have another chat with Mr. Malfoy very soon… But for now, let us head down to the Great Hall, as they say: I could eat a hippogriff."

* * *

The Great Hall was abuzz with students, as it always was a dinnertime. Harry and Dawn had managed to arrive for dinner before Hermione, Ron and the most of the other fifth year Gryffindors. They sat up the end furthest away from the Teachers' table, softly talking to each other.

"Well, Dumbledore hasn't wanted to talk to us yet, so I'm figuring that he doesn't know anything yet." Dawn pointed out soon before gasping as she gazed towards the large double doors.

Harry turned to see what had caused that reaction and saw Malfoy entering and seating himself at his usual seat, however the only person to have sat next to him was his fellow Slytherin, Blaise Zabini.

"What exactly is going on," Harry wondered as he watched Malfoy interact with Blaise. "I find it hard to believe that Malfoy hasn't said anything yet… he's planning something, I'm sure of it."

Dawn nodded in agreement as she subtly turned to observe him as well. However, this caught Malfoy's attention and he turned his head to stare straight at the pair with a dangerous glare. Dawn twisted her body back around, trying not to draw any extra attention.

"Okay, we are in some serious trouble here… I think we might have to talk to Dumbledore soon." Dawn said, gazing down at the table.

"Talk to Dumbledore about what?" Ginny piped up as she seated herself, although she had a pretty good idea of what they were discussing. Ron, Hermione and Neville also joined them at the table before the food appeared.

Meanwhile, although Draco had been aware of both Harry and Dawn's stares, he failed to notice Tara watching him intently. She knew that there was something not right about what she sensed earlier and she watched him while she tried to figure it out.

"He couldn't be the Key because the Key is female," She remembered. "But he has to have had contact with the Key to have such a strong magical residue surrounding him… maybe the Key was responsible for the attack… which means _he knows_."

She continued to occasionally glance towards the Slytherin table throughout dinner; however, Draco was one of the first to finish and slipped out through the door, apparently unnoticed by everyone but her.

Draco had left dinner early, ignoring the current strict curfews and walked out through the entrance doors into the crisp air of the Hogwarts grounds. He shoved his hands in his pockets for additional warmth; otherwise he assumed his fingers would literally freeze.

He casually walked out past Hagrid's house, or pathetic pile of wood, as he liked to call it, and skimmed the edge of the Forbidden Forest all while deep in thought.

A silhouette stepped out from the shadows of the forest ahead of him, he could see the breath of the person in a cloud of mist in front of them, as they took strong breaths in and out. He had obviously stopped at the sight of the shadowed person, but had not turned away or run.

"Hello son." The person finally spoke, lifting back the hood that covered their face.

* * *

**A.N – Yay, I love cliffhangers… they keep the reader hungry for more! Hehe. A much, much longer chapter than usual… it's actually my longest chapter ever from all of my fan fiction stories. It could almost be counted as a celebration for 25 chapters. :) Since this chapter is longer, I hope I get some more reviews… wink wink. Thanks for reading – Akalea.**


	27. The Forest

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: I'm back again! Hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year period. This story is really taking some time, but I decided not to rush and have been writing only when I feel especially creative, and when I'm not doing anything of course. I decided to take my time with this chapter and get it exactly how I want it, so I can post it and be 100 happy with what I've written. I've certainly gone back many times and tweaked it. :)  
**

**Now thanks for the reviews, I actually got more than one or two again! Yay, you guys completely rock!  
_Lexi_ – Thanks so much for reviewing! Here's the next chapter for you, hope the wait wasn't too long.  
****_Shadowglove _– lol chronica badmanluvitis… haven't heard that before.. I like it:) Hehe, maybe I should create a new character, plan whether they'll be a villain and then see what you think of him… see if that sixth sense works. Lol. Anyway, well I hope I do Draco justice for you in this story. Thanks for the review.  
_anonymous_ – Hehe… didn't I tell you? I work for Voldemort. lol. Thanks for reviewing, hope you didn't think the wait was too long or completely forgot about this story.  
_Vixen-queen_ – Thanks for the reviews! Ooh, I'm glad you're enjoying the story and that you like the dialogue! I work so hard on it and hope that it'll be okay. Thanks for the advice too. Sorry that you're missing Spike but I like his character but I haven't written him myself before, it'd probably be a big challenge for me… maybe I'll put him in at some stage just for you :) And finally, yay I'm glad I've improved, that's something… and I'm glad that the last chapter wasn't too predictable… and judging by what you think is going to happen, this chapter too… hehe. :p Thank you!  
****_Buffy-CrazyaboutAngel_ – Thanks! Yay, 'coz I'm really trying to make it dramatic… you've gotta love the drama! Anyway, here's the chapter:**

* * *

**Chapter 26 – The Forest**

Tara stumbled over a particularly stubborn tree root, the tip of her shoe being temporarily wedged under it. She quietly cursed to herself, rubbing the aching area near her toes. 

"It'd certainly be a lot less painful if I just used 'lumos'," She thought logically. "But that defeats the purpose of following someone without being noticed."

At first she had easily watched as Malfoy casually wandered out the large double doors in the Entrance Hall, and out towards the boundary of the Forbidden Forest. However, the space in between the castle and the forest was too open to follow until he was well out of sight. This, of course, made it difficult to locate him again once she had left the castle walls.

Her body stiffened and ceased all movements as she faintly heard voices travelling from ahead. She squinted her eyes and could make out some small, but dark silhouettes further along. Ordinarily, it would have been impossible to hear anything from someone so far away, however with a simple flick of the wand the wind positioned itself so that Tara could faintly here the two male voices, a spell that she had taken upon herself to learn in her sixth year.

"… The Key… dark lord… pleased." She managed to make out from one of the figures, although she was practically straining her ears just to make out that.

Upon hearing those words, Tara knew she needed to get closer in order to hear the conversation better and perhaps even apprehend the two figures. Glancing to her right, she decided to take cover amongst the trees and ducked into the edge of the forest. This would undoubtedly make it easier for her to approach them as they stood just outside the Forest, apparently deep in conversation.

She could no longer see the silhouettes from inside the forest, however she knew they were a fair distance away and proceeded slowly in their direction. It was much more difficult walking in the dark now, the trees shadowed out most of the light cast from the moon. Now, more than ever she wished that it was safe to use 'lumos'.

Just as she told herself to be extra carefully creeping around the trees, she pressed her foot down onto a loose, dead branch on the ground in front. The pressure caused the branch to snap, the sound unmistakably stood out amongst the calm silence inside the forest, as well as the stumble she made to quickly step off the branch.

She peered around the tree she was standing behind to see a bright flash of light from nearby.

"Damn." She muttered as she immediately took out her wand and warily stepped out from behind the tree.

She decided that she might as make her presence know, not that it probably wasn't already know now.

Holding her wand out, she hesitantly stepped out of the forest, however those two figures were nowhere to be seen.

"Show yourse-" She began to order, as she turned in a circle, however she was interrupted mid-sentence as something collided with her, causing her to stumble backwards.

She found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy, who looked slightly dazed or surprised by her presence for a moment. "Professor!" He called out surprise.

"Mr. Malfoy," She began nervously, gazing around at her surrounding to see any sign of another person. "What are you doing out here? Especially after dark without being escorted by a staff member, you know the current rules…"

She paused as she continued to look around.

"What is it, Professor?" Draco inquired, turning to look in the same direction.

"Who… were you… with? Where's the other person?"

Draco frowned and shrugged, momentarily pausing before speaking. "There was only me here… I went for a stroll to… clear my head… and I forgot the rules that Dumbledore put in place."

She watched him for a moment, knowing that there was something more going on then he had revealed. Nevertheless, she was also aware of the Malfoy stubbornness.

"I…" Tara started to say, however, as she did so, she decided that she would keep quiet and keep a strong eye on him. "…Well, you're way too close to the forest here and I'm sure you know the school rules… I'm gonna have to take fifteen points off for that, and another ten for being out against the new nightfall rules."

Draco didn't look too pleased at this and opened his mouth to dispute this but stopped himself quickly. He knew that if it were anyone else like McGonagall he would be facing worse and decided to silently object to this.

She gently placed a hand on his back and gave him a nudge in the direction of the castle. "We should get back to the castle… and p-please don't wander alone again, you don't know what's out there." She finished, giving one last look into the forest.

* * *

Both Voldemort and Glory were growing impatient; neither had expected that it would take this long in obtaining the Key, although with relying on Glory's brainless demon minions and the pathetic Death Eaters, it was not a surprise.

Lucius Malfoy, for example, had concocted up a plan, which he had ensured would deliver them the Key, however that was some time ago and the Dark Lord was beginning to doubt one of his most trusted servants. He had sent Lucius away, warning him to not come back until this plan had succeeded, otherwise…

So when one of Glory's minions showed in Lucius, Voldemort remained pessimistic.

"_Lucius_," Voldemort hissed, his eyes narrowing into much thinner slits. "Perhaps you didn't our little chat from last time seriously…"

"But My Lord," Lucius had the audacity to interrupt his master. "I did, and I followed your words."

Voldemort sat forward in his seat eagerly. "Does that mean…"

Lucius nodded arrogantly. "Yes, master. My plan was successful and I have discovered the identity of the Key."

Voldemort did something that he had rarely done during the past few long and unproductive months, he laughed evilly, his voice resonating throughout the room. The other Death Eaters present seemed relieved and pleased to see this reaction, however jealous that they could not be the ones to evoke this reaction from their master.

"It's good to see that you are willing to sacrifice so much for this cause." Voldemort stated to the long blonde-haired man before him.

Lucius nodded his head in recognition. "It turned out to be a lot easier than I anticipated."

At that statement, both he and Voldemort shared an indescribable look, which confused even the other select Death Eaters who happened to be present.

"We'll discuss that matter later, Lucius… at the present we must gather all the Death Eaters together… however, it is imperative that neither Glory or her minions notice or hear anything of this." Voldemort explained, to which Lucius gave a small obliging bow of his head before exiting the room.

* * *

Dawn had spent the following day apprehensively watching Malfoy whenever she had encountered him, however no words had been exchanged since 'the incident'. Harry had also appeared nervous when they saw him roaming the corridors and avoided any disputes.

Currently, the usual quartet of Gryffindors wandered outside together after classes had finished. The sky was partially dark, so they knew that there wasn't long before the curfew rules were to come into play. They already weren't permitted to stray very far from the castle walls without an escort for safety measures, however one did require fresh air occasionally and that was exactly what they were doing.

"Did you _see_ Mandy Brocklehurst from Ravenclaw today?" Ron made conversation as they stepped out onto the immaculately kept lawns; he made an impressed whistle to accompany his question.

Dawn rolled her eyes. "More like what you _didn't_ see of her." The Ravenclaw girl's skirt was well above her knees and just long enough to cover her behind. She may have lived up to the house tradition of being intelligent but that didn't stop her from dressing provocatively.

Dawn had just laughed the comment and used hormones to explain it, however Hermione didn't take the comment so lightly and became frustrated. Nevertheless, she didn't say anything to accompany the irritated look on her face.

"I'm going to the library." She said simply, angrily throwing one end of her scarf up over her shoulder.

Not even a moment later, she had turned on her heel and stalked back up the stairs into the castle. Dawn called out a farewell before she turned to look at Ron and gave him a shake of her head. Both Ron and Harry looked completely befuddled by Hermione's behaviour, but Dawn knew exactly why her sister had reacted in this manner.

"What crawled up into her robe and died?" Ron questioned which amplified Dawn's impatience. After all the times Hermione had fought with Ron over his denseness, waiting for him to actually notice her in that way, he was still yet to catch on.

"Boys!" Dawn muttered to herself, and while she did so Harry appeared to have caught on after several moments of consideration, while observing Dawn's reaction as well.

"Uh… Ron, mate," Harry tried. "Maybe you should go and talk to her…"

Dawn took over, her voice was more forceful, and the tone she used was straight out of Hermione's book. "_Ron_, you better march right up there to the library, apologise and then snog her senseless."

Ron's eyes widened with shock at this comment. "Uh… well… I'll go _talk_ to her," He took a few steps away before calling out again. "Try not to snog _each other_ senseless while I'm gone."

Although not intentionally, Harry and Dawn found themselves alone with each other, and the only sound now was the soft rustling of the nearby trees.

"I somehow think that Ron and Hermione have noticed that we're spending a lot more time together now." Harry observed, casually trying to make conversation.

Dawn nodded. "It appears so… listen, Harry. Thank you so for being here this past month or so… you're a great friend."

Harry lowered his gaze to a random blade of grass, swaying in the breeze, his voice sounded somewhat distant. "Right… friend…"

Dawn immediately noticed his reaction to her words. Everything had become so complicated lately, and not to mention dangerous. She definitely knew that she had considered Harry as more than a friend, but she didn't want to drag him into even more danger than he was already in and have him worrying about her. Maybe the simpler, safer option was to not take things further than they had already escalated since finding out she was 'the Key'.

She certainly didn't know what was in store for her now, ever since the incident with Malfoy she'd felt a continuous dread, an anticipation of what was to come.

"_I don't want to put him through all of that too_," She reasoned to herself. "_Look what's happened to him so far_."

It felt like the longest time had passed while she underwent this inner conflict, but finally she opened her mouth to speak, trying to keep the hesitation out of her voice.

"W-well that's what we are, isn't it?" Dawn found her voice become weaker and she forced the words out. "I'm sorry, Harry but I'm not sure about what happened at Grimmauld Place… I was an emotional wreck after the discovery and I really don't know if that was all just because of the situation… I think we should stay friends."

Harry seemed surprised by these words; they certainly didn't coincide with the signals he'd been receiving. Then he considered the fact that maybe he was just being delusional, seeing what he wanted to see. After a moment, he finally gave a small acknowledging nod.

"Thanks, Harry." She spoke so quietly he'd almost missed it. Then she approached him sadly and gave him a small hug.

As she pulled away, her senses instantaneously informed her that something was different in their surrounding environment. Harry had picked up on the disparity too and gazed around quickly.

"The wind…" The moment the words had left Harry's mouth Dawn knew that was the change. The wind, which had quite clearly been blowing during their time outside, had suddenly ceased and silence became deafening.

Not being able to find an explanation to the rapid change in weather, Harry turned around and traced back along the steps they'd used to get to where they were.

"We better go back inside, it's getting to dark now." He explained shortly, not turning around to look at her.

Dawn could barely stand watching Harry like this and called out to him. "Harry, wait!" Hearing the insistent quality in her words was enough to make him turn back around to face her, although there was at least half a dozen feet distance between them.

BANG! Right before Harry's eyes, several Death Eaters had seized around her shoulders, arms and mouth in an attempt to incapacitate her. He watched in horror for a moment as Dawn fought against them, her legs frantically flailing around in the air; this was when Harry kicked into action.

"DAWN!" He cried out as he hastily retrieved his wand from his pocket, immediately sending a reasonably nasty jinx the Death Eaters way. It hit one of the intruders square on the chest, causing him to tumble to the ground.

Even Harry knew that he was still terribly outnumbered, but he knew that he had to at least put up a fight and try. While this occurred, Harry screamed out to them through clenched teeth. "_Let_ her go!"

One of the Death Eaters was not restraining Dawn, however he threw return curses at Harry, a few of which Harry barely managed to avoid. The Death Eater simply laughed at the futile order from the boy before replying. "I'm afraid not, Potter. We came here to get the Mudblood, got a delightfully entertaining show of her rejecting you, and then we're off." It wasn't hard to recognise that voice to be that of Lucius Malfoy.

Harry angrily threw another spell at Lucius, which he easily blocked off. He wasn't so lucky, Lucius retaliated with a curse and the spell grazed Harry's left calf, causing him to stumble over.

Lucius took this opportunity to close ground on him with his wand pointed directly at the Gryffindor. Harry knew he stood no chance and quickly retreated behind a stonewall, his left leg struggling to hold his weight as he limped along. He collapsed against the wall with his back to it, sliding down into a sitting position.

"Better luck next time, Potter," Lucius taunted, his voice bouncing off the walls. "We'll be taking the Key and going now."

Harry panicked and peered around the wall to see Lucius catch up with the other Death Eaters, who'd already made it towards the Forbidden Forest, which Harry only assumed as the way in which they'd entered the school grounds. From the distance, he could still make out the terrified look on Dawn's face as they pulled her out of sight.

He knew he had no chance of chasing them down with his injured leg, especially on the rough terrain of the forest floor, so Harry only did the first thing that came into his mind and quickly scrambled back towards the castle.

"Dawn!" A voice cried out in his head as he helped his left leg up the stairs.

* * *

Tara had an increasing feeling of dread, which had begun several hours ago and had failed to go away. She told no one of it, however Dumbledore had watched her curiously as he passed her in the corridor as she made her from her last class to her office. She then spent an hour or so correcting the third years' essays, and when she finally pulled her concentration from her desk she noticed nightfall was well in the process.

A sudden feeling hit the pit of her stomach, which was impossible to ignore, she then knew exactly where she had to be, although she didn't know why. Immediately dismissing the current essay she was reading, she grabbed her wand, threw on her cloak and tore out of her office.

"Hecate!" She cried out loudly as she reached her sleeping quarters, realising the emergency of the situation, she didn't care whether the whole castle heard the password and would change it later.

She gasped with concern as she was greeted with the sight of her brother in an extremely battered and exhausted state. Harry had managed, with his bad leg, to make his way up all of the staircases in order to get where he was, so it wasn't a surprise he was inhaling sharply and had flopped onto a nearby chair. He had passed several students, wandering the corridors, in the process and each of them had shot him horrified and worried glances. Some had asked him what was wrong with his leg and if it was all right, however, he had rudely ignored them as he urgently limped his way along.

"Harry!" Tara shrieked at the sight before her, without delay she rushed over to attend to his leg. "What the hell happened? What happened to your leg? Are you okay?"

Harry took a short moment to enjoy the fact that a family member stood before him and actually cared about his wellbeing, unlike the Dursley's. However, he dismissed the questions about the condition he was in, and repeated the two words that had been repeating over and over in his head since the Death Eaters had departed.

"Dawn's gone!" His voice wavered as he hung his head.

* * *

**A.N – Sorry, I'm too in love with cliffhangers at the moment! Review please:)– Akalea**


	28. A Little Thing Called Revenge

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: I really did try to get this done as quick as possible, I had to do a bit of thinking about this one to figure out how exactly I wanted to work my ideas for this chapter. Well, here it finally is… definitely not as long a wait for this one when you compare it to the last chapter! Now to reply to my reviews, (thank you all):**

**_Vixen-Queen _– Yeah, I'm sick… I need help because here comes another cliffhanger! Yeah, maybe Spike might pop in before this story finishes; just for you… actually I have a good idea with that now:) Yeah, I thought the whole Dawn/Harry thing would add to the drama of the whole situation, I've tried to go into what Harry feels in this chapter, see what you think! Oh, and I'll definitely have to check out your story sometime :) Thanks!  
_anonymous_ – Don't worry, Harry's just going through a very big rough patch, things will get better for him… or will they? laughs maniacally Lol, sorry about. Anyway, I am inspired, I just find it very hard to write fast… I've tried to get this chapter done as soon as possible, just for you:) Thank you!  
_Buffy-CrazyaboutAngel_ – Sorry! You'll probably hate me even more, because guess what, another cliffy coming up! Curls up in fear Hehe… thanks for reviewing again!  
****_Lexi_ – Yep, and there's still a lot more shit that hasn't even hit the fan yet! Lol.**

* * *

**Chapter 27 – A Little Thing Called Revenge**

Tara allowed a moment to mull the words that had just left Harry's mouth. She frowned in confusion. "I don't get it… what are you talking about, Harry?"

Harry took a deep breath. "Dawn's gone… t-the Death Eaters, they…"

"Death Eaters?" Tara answered, the surprise evident in her voice. Not a moment later she raised her wand and looked prepared for battle.

Harry gingerly stood up on his good leg and pushed his sister's arm back down to resting position, shaking his head. "I-It's too late… they're gone."

Noticing his shaky stance, Tara turned her attention towards Harry's wounded leg, softly pressing her gentle hand to the open wound that was obviously inflicted by one of the Death Eaters. He ignored the attention, however, and proceeded towards the door. At this stage, his leg was badly weakened and he hardly managed to stay upright.

Just as he almost toppled over, Tara appeared on his injured side, hoisting his arm up over her shoulder to regain his balance. It wasn't hard to do this as Tara wasn't exactly short and was still slightly taller than her brother, although she knew that would soon change. Meanwhile, Harry attempted to continue on to the door, but as long as she didn't move, he didn't move.

"Where do you think you're going?" She inquired as she continued to hold a majority of his weight.

"We have to go to Dumbledore," He replied frantically. "I couldn't do anything, but he can… he has to."

Tara sighed. "I know you want to save Dawn, but you can't do anything with that leg right now. I'll put a weightless spell on you, to make it easier for me to help and then we're going straight to Madam Pomfrey."

"I _have_ to talk to Dumbledore… who knows what they'll do to her!" Harry replied with frustration, dropping his head into his free hand.

At this moment, Harry felt like he was entirely to blame for the capture of Dawn, even though it was Dawn's wish not to tell anyone of her true nature and identity. There were many things that he thought he could have done, firstly he felt like it was his job to protect her, and secondly he could have tried harder in persuading Dawn to take the matter to Dumbledore. But he'd failed at both of those, and now she was in the hands of Voldemort.

While Harry endured the inner-monologue, Tara realised from his last statement that she hadn't asked about why Dawn was taken. But then at that moment she knew. She couldn't believe that she didn't notice it before; she'd noticed the change in Harry and Dawn's behaviour over the past few weeks. "Dawn's the Key, and Voldemort found that out, didn't he?"

Harry's head quickly snapped around to look at her with surprised eyes. "How did you know? At Grimmauld-" He stopped himself for a moment, not particularly keen on revealing that they had been eavesdropping on the Order over the Christmas period. However, these were dire circumstances and he reluctantly continued. "At Order Headquarters you all clearly didn't know who the Key was."

"No, we didn't… I only just figured it all out then. Wait- you managed to find a way to listen in our meetings?" Tara replied.

Harry nodded. "It was more like Fred and George found a way."

Tara shook her head in amazement. "Those two are the cheekiest, most cunning wizards I've ever met. How did Dawn know that she was the Key? The monks who created her gave her memories to make her think she'd lived a normal life."

Harry sighed impatiently, followed by a wince as a sharp pain began to shoot up his leg. "Please, Tara. I don't have time for questions… she's out there somewhere so get Madam Pomfrey to fix my leg and then we must do all we can to get her back."

Tara showed her sympathy towards her younger brothers' distress and gave him a comforting hug, which was quite difficult considering she was the one that was keeping him from toppling over. After several seconds she pulled away and performed the weightless spell she'd mentioned moments earlier.

"Let's get you to the Hospital Wing, and don't worry… we'll get her back." She reassured.

Harry had only known his sister for a several months, but he was already starting to love her.

* * *

While Harry underwent treatment on his badly injured leg, Tara had gone and retrieved Dumbledore like he had wanted. They returned not long after, followed also by Professors McGonagall and Snape, Buffy and Willow.

"Good grief, Potter!" McGonagall called out in disbelief when she examined the Gryffindor's nasty leg wound. "It looks as though an animal the size of a Hippogriff tore open your leg."

Judging by the reaction of the Deputy Headmistress, Harry had figured that Tara hadn't filled them in on the latest occurrences.

"No," Harry replied simply. "Death Eaters."

McGonagall covered a gasp; all while Dumbledore remained in silent thought. "Death Eaters? In the school grounds? Say something, Albus."

"Are you alright, Harry?" Dumbledore voiced, to which Harry gave a rushed nod.

Buffy decided to get straight to the point. "Death Eaters are the dudes that work for Voldemort, right?" Both Dumbledore and Harry nodded. "What did they do?"

"They took the Key…" Tara began to explain when Harry took over for her.

"They took Dawn." Harry finished with a mix of sadness and anger.

Dumbledore kept his poker face as usual, however, the other occupants in the room all stood there with opened mouths.

"Wait a minute… Dawn _Granger_ is the Key?" Willow tried to clear up. "Didn't see that one coming."

"And you knew, Potter?" Snape interrogated.

"Yes," Harry gave a small nod. "Dawn and I found out around Christmas… you see, odd things had been happening with Dawn. Also at Order Headquarters we kind of… overheard the Order discussing it. Then we read a book that Dawn had found which confirmed it."

Snape took an intimidating step forward towards the hospital bed Harry was lounged across. "_And_ you didn't go to tell an Order member, _Professor Dumbledore_ perhaps… you're just as foolish as your father was!"

Harry's eyes narrowed and at the insulting mention of their father, Tara took a quick step forward and spoke with rare authority. "That's enough!"

Snape glared at Tara and didn't move, then opened his mouth to spit out another frustrated insult. Buffy, however, took that moment to step in, giving him a hard shove away from the bed. "You heard her, you greasy-haired moron!"

Harry watched with disbelief, and not to mention amusement, as Snape regained his balance, at this point he was absolutely seething with anger.

Before things got out of hand, Dumbledore decided to settle the spat. "Yes, I'm afraid that is quite enough, Severus," He then swiftly changed the direction of the conversation. "You said yourself that Voldemort was planning something with several other Death Eaters that you weren't able to get in on… I believe that this would be what they were planning."

Dumbledore wandered over to give Harry a heartening hand on his shoulder before finalising the current conversation. "We should see to that Poppy finishes healing your leg as best she can, after which you should get some rest. We'll talk more later, Harry, and do all that we can to help Miss Granger in the meantime. Goodnight."

Harry grudgingly replied as all the others present bid him goodnight, and Tara with a quick hug. Madam Pomfrey noticed they were all departing, pulled a curtain around the bed for privacy and went off to the storeroom to gather what she needed to finish working on Harry's leg.

He certainly didn't feel like sleeping at a time like this, he hadn't even told Ron or Hermione what had happened yet, although he supposed that Dumbledore or McGonagall would be speaking with them to let them know. As he lay there on the hospital bed, he could hear his Professors muffled voices as they talked quietly while heading out into the hallway.

He certainly couldn't control the urge to go over hear what they had to say, so he completely ignored the protest from his body as he slid onto the cold stone floor. Double-checking to ensure that Madam Pomfrey was still away doing whatever is was she was doing, Harry crept over to the doors leading out into the hallway.

Peering out through the tiniest gap possible, he could see several figures stopped out in the hall speaking so that it was just audible for Harry.

"How could something like this happen?" Buffy questioned. "If we had such a hard time finding the Key what made it so easy for Voldemort?"

Snape decided to point out what he'd observed. "Potter implied that only he and Granger knew and told no one."

"And I'm sure that they just woke up one day and thought 'Let's tell evil where to find the Key'," Buffy replied sarcastically. "Obviously someone else found out."

Harry pried the door open slightly further, just enough to make out their facial expression. Peering over at his sister, he noticed that she was standing silently with her arms crossed, staring at the floor with a frown.

Dumbledore spoke up. "We shall continue this in my office, where we can also contact the rest of the Order."

As Harry watched their retreating backs, the slayer's words echoed in his head _"Obviously someone else found out"_. He threw his fist towards the wall, this didn't help with the fact that he was already injured and sent a pain shooting right up his arm. How could he have been so stupid… again?

Harry rushed over and discovered his wand sitting on the table next to his bed; he snatched it up and moved back towards the door, he was the most focused he had ever been in his fifteen years. He was going to make Draco Malfoy pay.

* * *

Madam Pomfrey had taken away most of the pain in his leg, so Harry was able to hurry down the corridors with a slight limp. He knew he had to find Malfoy first, so he went to retrieve the Marauder's Map from his dormitory. As he entered the Gryffindor Common Room, he ignored the looks he received by his housemates as he stormed past.

Out of the corner of his eye, Harry noticed a red blur approach him, however he didn't stop until it, or rather they, had held his shoulder to slow him down.

"Harry! What's going on?" Ginny asked, concern evident in her voice. "McGonagall just came and took Ron and Hermione away to talk to them, she sounded serious… well I know she's usually serious, but she was a lot more than usual."

Harry groaned angrily. "Death Eaters came into the school grounds and kidnapped Dawn."

Ginny covered her mouth in horror; there was also a look on her face that Harry couldn't place, she seemed to be contemplating something at the same time.

"That can't be…" She said to herself, but Harry overheard this.

"I was there… and I couldn't stop them." Harry explained, after which a moment of silence fell between them. He attempted to continue on his way up the stairs, but was stopped by Ginny once more.

"Where are you going, Harry?" Ginny questioned. "You're not going after them are you?"

Harry shook his head quickly, staring straight in front of him. "No… I was just going to get my map. I know Malfoy is responsible for this and I'm going find him, and when I do-"

Ginny didn't hesitate to interrupt. "I'm coming with you."

Harry simply acknowledged this; ordinarily he would have objected to getting his best friend's sister involved in all of this, on the other hand a rage was slowly building its way up inside him and he didn't really care at this moment. There was certainly no stopping him.

* * *

The teachers and Scooby Gang had spent quite some time in Dumbledore's Office discussing their options. After talking for ages, they finally got down to the point: nobody was exactly sure how they would be able to rescue Dawn or where Voldemort would be keeping her, not even Snape.

"Headmaster," Snape began to explain. "Voldemort and Lucius have kept me out of their plans, which shows that they still do not trust me enough. However, if I can slowly gain their trust, I may be able to discover where Miss Granger is being held."

"Slowly isn't gonna cut it," Buffy interrupted quite rudely, but she didn't really care. "Whatever it is you need to do to get this psycho maniac to trust you, do it pronto."

Snape glared at the slayer, he certainly wasn't going to endure what he thought was arrogance from her. Dumbledore, however, had impeccable timing and cut the argument off while it was still in its infancy.

"Severus, we would appreciate it that you do all you can to find Miss Granger, but don't of course endanger your position among the Death Eaters, the information we receive from you is invaluable. As for the rest of you, I'm afraid you will just have to continue on with your teaching jobs… you can't abandon them, other members of the Order will be out there doing all they can. Now, I believe we could all use some dinner." Dumbledore finally finished.

"Dinner's not the only thing I could use!" Anya exclaimed suggestively towards Xander. The couple had made their way to Dumbledore's Office as soon as they heard about kidnapping of the Key.

There was no reaction from anyone, excluding Xander's face turning as red as a tomato, ignoring Anya's inappropriate comments had almost already become second nature to those who were not accustomed to them only a few months ago.

Everyone realised that there was nothing further to be and reluctantly turned to go, especially Buffy, who seemed to be highly agitated about sitting on her hands for a while, something she rarely did.

"I really hope you don't make comments like that with the students around, Anya." Willow teased as they made their way out.

As Tara reached the door, she heard Dumbledore call her name, as if he'd just remembered something very important.

Albus stood in front of her, an honesty twinkling in his blue eyes. "Tara, I truly believe that if anyone can really help us in finding Miss Granger's whereabouts, it is you."

Tara's eyes widened in surprise. "M-me, sir?" She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, as she was unable to find any further words to respond to this.

Tara had spent her time at Hogwarts quietly trying to blend into the mass of students, never really standing out. She was actually surprised that during her return to Hogwarts, many people remembered her. She now found it extremely hard to believe that the headmaster of Hogwarts was telling her that she was to play a huge part in saving the Key from Voldemort, Glory and their followers.

"You mustn't be so surprised, Tara," Dumbledore began to explain further, breaking Tara from her thoughts. "You are an incredibly gifted witch, the daughter of Lily and James Potter, the sister of Harry Potter and you possess seer abilities that even Sybill Trelawney would be jealous of… I believe that your seer abilities will be able to assist us further than they already have."

"But how?" Tara wondered, she couldn't control when she felt something or had any visions whilst awake or sleeping.

"Well, we can only hope that something will 'spring up'. Your brother was present when Miss Granger was taken, and has also seemed to create a, shall we say… connection to her these past few weeks, that much is obvious. Perhaps if you spend some to with him you may discover something helpful. In the meantime, I myself will be doing all I can to help."

Tara absorbed all this information and nodded in acknowledgement before turning to leave. As she was leaving she felt the need to say a quick 'Thank you' before leaving, although she wasn't exactly sure why. Perhaps it was because the elderly wizard had helped her in many ways over the time she had known him and had given her the reassurance she needed to really know who she was.

Once she was outside Dumbledore's Office and walked out past the guarding gargoyle, Tara almost literally ran into someone, as she was engrossed in her thoughts. Charlie Weasley offered a steading hand on her shoulder and apologised.

"Charlie!" Tara showed her surprise at seeing the second eldest Weasley in the castle. "What are you doing here?"

"It's good to see you too." He joked, not having much opportunity to see her alone since they had almost kissed around the New Year. "Dumbledore contacted Sirius at Grimmauld Place and told him what happened. Since Sirius couldn't very well leave there and come see Dumbledore in person, I'm here."

There was a short silence as Tara gave a small acknowledging nod before Charlie spoke up again. "It's an odd feeling, isn't it… being back here in the castle… both of us."

She knew they were both tip-toeing around the real topic they were both longing to discuss but hadn't been able to, so Tara timidly spoke up in an attempt to get to the point. "Charlie, a-about New Years Eve… I could tell from the look on your face that you didn't mean to kiss me… well, almost. I know you were probably only doing it because I was upset and…"

For a moment, Charlie wasn't quite sure what to say to this and frowned. Meanwhile, Tara turned her look away, waiting for him to confirm her thoughts.

"I think you're… confused," He began quietly. "But that's not really a surprise, I've been a daft prat. After all those years of friendship at Hogwarts, I never plucked up the courage to tell you how I really felt… I definitely cared about you as more than a friend and after seeing you again… I realised… those feelings… have never really gone away."

Tara's head snapped back up at the last part. "You… you…"

Words completely failed her but that didn't matter as they closed in to finish what they had started on New Years Eve morning. Fate, of course, was not that kind; before they could do so, Madam Pomfrey came charging towards the entrance of Dumbledore's Office. The pair both sighed in completely frustration before addressing the Hogwarts nurse.

"Is there something wrong?" Charlie asked looking at Madam Pomfrey's serious and slightly worried expression.

Pomfrey gave a tough nod. "I don't understand how I am expected to treat patients if they leave before I can treat them properly!""

Tara's eyes widened. "Did Harry _leave_ the Hospital Wing?"

"Yes," She replied with annoyance. "His leg was injured rather badly by a nasty curse, by gallivanting off wherever he's gone, he could injure it even more so."

"Do you know where he went?" Tara vaguely heard Charlie say but her mind had already been taken far away from the corridor they were standing.

_She saw a familiar scene before her. In fact, it was a scene that had occurred not even an hour ago.  
_

"_Potter implied that only he and Granger knew and told no one." She heard Snape say, as she had the first time around._

"…_Obviously someone found out." She watched a Buffy induce them all into their own thoughts at this comment. Then something caught her eye, something she couldn't have noticed the first time around._

_The doors to the Hospital Wing were slightly ajar, a figure stood pressed up to the door, which she knew immediately to be Harry. So… Harry had been listening in on their conversation. The conversation must have triggered something for Harry to make him disappear afterwards, but what?_

_There was another sudden flash and Tara found herself pulled away from the scene before her to another scene, this one she hadn't witnessed before. She was standing in a corridor; near the dungeons was all the she could figure from what she saw._

_Then her brother came around the corner, looking around as if looking for a lost item or perhaps even looking for someone._

"_Potter," Tara whipped around at the same time as Harry to see Malfoy standing behind them. "What brings you to this part of the castle, especially without the Mudbloods and the Weasel? You wouldn't happen to be looking for someone… or more importantly something? A book… perhaps?"_

"_Okay Malfoy, I'll make you a deal: give me the book and I won't be forced to throw any nasty hexes at you." She heard Harry retort._

"_Book… what book were they talking about?" She began to wonder, but just dismissed the argument as probably being over a book for one of their classes. However, she continued to watch as the conversation unfolded._

"…_This particular book belongs in the Restricted Section of the library," She then heard Malfoy say, immediately getting her apt attention. "… And the book has been reported missing by Madam Pince, so that rules out the idea that a teacher allowed you to get it… maybe I should give it to Dumbledore and see what he thinks about all this."_

"_Okay… so the book is a little more important than I thought." Tara noted to herself._

_She then watched the scene as Harry told Malfoy he could have the book, and then the pair was joined by Dawn who seemed even more desperate to get possession of the book._

"_Well, I think I'll just leave you two to your pathetic conversations and go for a walk… hmm, Dumbledore's Office is sounding good…" She watched Malfoy threaten as he turned to walk away._

_Tara watched with absolute concentration as Dawn screamed out, at first he didn't stop but as Dawn persisted Malfoy halted and began to turn around. Tara watched with amazement as a green glow enveloped Dawn, the energy then began to gather itself and went hurtling towards Malfoy._

_Tara gasped as Malfoy went flying through the air like a rag doll, colliding with the nearby statue._

"_So that's what happened when Buffy and Xander found him." Tara realised as all the pieces of the puzzle began to come together._

_Had Draco Malfoy figured out that Dawn was the Key after that incident? Even if he hadn't, Tara knew that perhaps if someone else found out about the incident she'd just witness maybe they would be able to put two and two together._

_Just then Tara found herself back at the first scene she'd witnessed in her vision, right at the moment she had left it, minutes earlier.Tara found herself watching her past self, noticing the look of deep concentration on her face._

"_What was I thinking about?" She asked herself and considered this for a moment. Then it came to her._

_Just a night before she had followed Malfoy to see him standing on the edge of the forest with a dark figure... perhaps that was how Voldemort found out about Dawn. Harry had said that only he and Dawn knew, but Malfoy was an eyewitness to Dawn's power, so he was the only person, that Tara knew of, who could have known. And furthermore, Harry would have very well known that Malfoy could have figured it all out._

_There was something in the feeling that Tara got in the pit of her stomach that told her this was very close to the truth. Tara found herself gasping once more. So if Harry knew who sold Dawn to Voldemort, and in his current state of mind there would only be one thing on his mind at the present moment: revenge._

Tara had broken out of her vision, which must have only taken a second or two in real life because Madam Pomfrey was only beginning to respond to Charlie's question.

"If I knew where he went, I wouldn't exactly be coming to see the Headmaster, would I?" Pomfrey replied harshly.

Tara mutteredseven simple words, instantly attracting the attention of the other two. "I think I know where he is!"

* * *

**A.N – Well, that's it again for this chapter! Plenty more drama coming up! – Akalea :)**


	29. Dark and Confusing Times

**Disclaimer: These characters belong to either the brilliant Joss Whedon, or the wonderful J.K. Rowling. :) **

**Author's Note: Hello… ducks the various items the readers would be throwing at her. Yeah, I know… had over half of this chapter just sitting here written for about eight months, lol. At least I haven't totally abandoned this story. :) **

_Vixen-Queen_ – Hehe, yeah… I'll try not to forget about Spike, but I almost did until I re-read your review… lol. Yep, I'm sure that this chapter will be fierce… everyone deserves it after waiting so long!  
_Spacehog26_ – Cool thanks! Glad you're enjoying it… hope you like this one too. :)  
_anonymous _– hehe, that doesn't really matter, considering updates don't occur too often… hehe. Really sorry about making you wait, the chaos continues…

**Oh, and one good tip if you had almost forgotten about this story is to perhaps re-read over the last few chapters before this one so that you can get back into it.**

* * *

**Chapter 28 – Dark and Confusing Times **

Dawn hazily opened her eyes and urgently took in her foreign surroundings. The place was filthy and gloomy, not a single surface could be seen through the dirt and mould and the only light was emanating from a small circular window. Her first reaction was to try and see out this window; however, the window was too high up to be peered out of. This place reminded her of a prison cell or a cage, with bars and all.

She recalled the panic and pain on Harry's face as the Death Eaters dragged her away; surprisingly the feelings that overtook her at that moment were guilt and sorrow for having to lie to him moments earlier. Now she got the intense feeling that she would never see him again and be able to utter the truth to him.

Dawn exhaled loudly as she recollected the last thing she could remember before she found herself here. She was being dragged through the Forbidden Forest; she had been struggling with all her strength so the Death Eaters were forced to stun her with a strong red light in order to be able to move much faster.

Although her legs tried to tell her otherwise, she fought to stand up on her shaky legs and managed to succeed without toppling back over. She trembled as she made her way over to the bars that were the only thing stopping her from running away, and grabbed them.

"Someone! Please, help!" She screamed; the only answer was her own voice bouncing back off the walls. And she knew that probably the only people who could hear her were the ones of who'd locked her in to begin with.

Following her desperate plea was almost complete silence, apart from the occasional sound of dripping water, which made her to believe there was a leak in the wall somewhere.

"How did I end up like this?" Dawn said to herself quietly as a tear of frustration and fear trailed down her right cheek.

The question was important one; she thought that keeping her true identity as a best-kept secret would keep her safe; however it appeared that was her first mistake. Would had known about her 'status' and ultimately sent Death Eaters to abduct her? She knew Harry would never have in a million years and so that meant only one person was responsible: her second big mistake.

"_How could I've been such a stupid cow?_" She mentally scolded herself. "_Of course Malfoy would've told someone about what happened two days ago, his father's a Death Eater!_"

Dawn flopped down onto the disgraceful floor, suddenly not bothered by the complete lack of hygiene of the place. "Harry was right, we should've told Dumbledore! And I was too stupid and stubborn to realise it!"

She then curled herself into a round ball, her knees meeting her chest. It was then that she let the tears flow, the dread of not knowing what Voldemort had in store for her.

* * *

Recently, Draco had constantly felt like he wanted to be left alone and had become a good friend of the silence, not that he was the most sociable person to begin with. Minutes earlier he had been in the Slytherin Common Room brooding to his hearts' content, only to be pulled out of his reverie by a group of first years. They were innocently talking and laughing but Draco had tried to use the fact that he was several years older to his advantage, yelling at them to 'shut the bloody hell up'.

At first there was a silence and they looked at him as if they'd been stung by a dangerous creature but this didn't last very long and they continued their rather loud conversations. The first years were getting more and more daring each year, and the nerve of them to ignore him! So he'd sulked away bitterly and exited out towards the dungeons, little did he know what was awaiting him outside.

WHACK! A strong force had collided with his face, he heard his nose crack loudly on impact and the only thing he saw was red. The force had swiftly bowled him off his and he crashed into the stone floor.

"What the fucking hell?!" He cried out painfully as he brought his hands up to his nose.

He still couldn't see what or who had attacked him as the blood from his nose had gotten into his eyes. He risked ruining his expensive robes and rubbed the sleeves over his eyes in hope to restore his sight. He looked up to see Harry Potter standing over him with a rage in his eyes that he'd never seen before.

"What the bloody hell do you thing you're doing, _Potter_?!" He spat out lividly. "Are you finally showing your true colours?"

Harry fought the urge to throw a hex at him and finish it then and there… but no he was going to make this slow and painful. "And we've known _your_ true colours all along, but you went and… _confirmed_ them! You're an arrogant, conniving, _evil_ Death Eater!" Harry's voice had lowered to an angry growl.

Draco looked confused, which stirred up Harry's anger more. "_Potter_, I don't know what y-"

Before Draco could finish, Harry had thrown the Bat Bogey hex at him and then charged at him. He couldn't believe that after what Malfoy had done, he was trying to play ignorant and pretend nothing had happened.

Harry had managed to tackle him to the ground and threw another punch, this time smashing against Draco's jaw. Draco certainly wasn't going to just wait for more blows and decided to fight back, aiming so that Harry would have one hell of a black eye for the next week or so. If possible, this fuelled Harry's anger further.

Just as Harry was going retaliate and drew back his arm, he felt a force drawing him away and back onto his feet. He was then restrained by the leg-locker curse. Meanwhile, Malfoy had got to his feet with a look ready to kill but Charlie Weasley took a step in between the space separating the two enemies. While Harry was wondering why the second oldest Weasley was in the castle he turned his head to then see his sister standing nearby with a horrified look on her face, and several other people had gathered round to witness the spectacle.

There was a strong silence in that moment as they all stood there either absolutely fuming or completely aghast. Charlie broke the silence as he turned to the blonde-haired Slytherin. "You better go to the Hospital Wing, Malfoy." He said uncomfortably, taking in the extent of Draco's injuries.

He then looked around. "Ginny!" Charlie greeted his sister briefly, Draco's head shot in her direction only just noticing her presence also. "Could you take him to Madam Pomfrey?"

There was an intense look in Ginny's eyes, which she quickly disguised before nodding. Draco followed the youngest Weasley but not before taking one last look at the expression on Harry's face as he watched them go. And for one rare moment he almost thought he was scared of that expression… almost.

* * *

_Five minutes earlier…_

Tara hadn't hesitated in taking off down the corridor; it took several moments for Charlie to catch up.

"Tara, would you mind slowing down?" Charlie called out as he followed several paces behind her.

She slowed down to a brisk walking pace, not a moment later he caught up and fell into sync with her movements.

"How do you know where Harry's gotten off to?" He questioned in between sharp breaths.

Tara responded with a kind of shrug. "Well, I don't exactly know… I just have a feeling."

"What feeling is that?"

She gave a small sigh. "That Harry is not only disappointed with himself for letting Dawn be taken, he is also looking for someone to blame. He thinks that Malfoy gave away Dawn's identity, and he could be right."

Charlie's eyebrows rose. "Merlin! If you're right about all that, remind me to always trust your feelings."

Tara quickened her pace. "I'm afraid that Harry might be doing something incredibly stupid right now, I think he might try to confront Malfoy… or worse."

"Well if that's the case," He responded, taking note of the time. "The first logical place to look for him would be the Slytherin Common Room, Harry would know that is the best place to find Malfoy."

"Good idea… let's go!" Tara responded.

Charlie placed a guiding hand on her left shoulder as they raced through the hallways in aim for the dungeons.

* * *

_Back to Present_

There was an extremely uncomfortable silence as Draco was accompanied to the Hospital Wing, Ginny silently walking next to him. Deciding to ignore the pain of his indubitably broken nose, he gazed at the fiery redhead out of the corner of his eye.

He noted that her body was tense, especially her hands that were curled over almost into fists. There was an irate frown upon her features and she looked as though she was battling to do or say something, probably something that she really wanted to do.

They were almost at the Hospital Wing, when Draco could take it no longer and decided to speak up.

"I can barely stand to walk next to you right now. What has got you so worked up, Weasley?" He asked casually. "I'm the one with the broken nose and many bruises."

Not a single person would have known what was coming next, as if like an explosion, Ginny shrieked out. "YOU CAN BARELY STAND TO WALK NEXT TO _ME_? CONCENTRATING ON STEPPING ONE FOOT IN FRONT OF THE OTHER IS THE ONLY THING THAT'S KEEPING ME FROM CONTINUING FROM WHERE HARRY LEFT OFF!"

Draco stood there in shock for several moments, not being able to get over the fact that something so loud and almost terrifying could come out of the smallest and youngest Weasley.

"What is your problem, Weasley?" He responded after the initial shock wore off.

No sooner than the last word left his mouth, he felt a sudden and intense stinging on his cheek to add to the existing pain. He looked over to see Ginny standing there with the hand she'd collided with his face still out in front of her. There was a fury there in her eyes that would give Voldemort a run for his money.

"AFTER ALL THIS, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE STILL NOT ACCEPTING RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE! I WAS _SO_ STUPID IN BELIEVING THAT I COULD TRUST YOU WITH ANY INFORMATION! AND NOW DAWN COULD BE IN TERRIBLE PAIN… OR DEAD!" The nearby portraits went into hiding at Ginny's second spell of screaming.

Draco went to open his mouth to respond, only to be met with Ginny's wand poking into the part of his neck right below his chin, it was quite a reach for the small Gryffindor but that didn't discredit her abilities by any means.

She took a deep breath to lower her voice back down to normal levels and grinded her teeth as she spoke. "If you say something else, I swear to god that I won't hesitate to debilitate you."

Although he couldn't quite believe it himself, he accepted the threat and they continued on their way. As they came to the end of their journey to the Hospital Wing, he peered over subtly and where he could only she anger and fury before, he now saw something else.

Sadness.

What confused to a great extent was the fact that he felt guilt and sadness himself upon seeing this emotion displayed on her features. But he would of course never admit that to anyone else.

* * *

"Albus, we have a problem." Dumbledore heard McGonagall say quietly in his ear as he sat up at the teachers' table for dinner.

"Yes, Minerva," he responded quietly as he piled mashed potato onto his dinner plate. "We certainly do. A student being taken from our school grounds… and Voldemort now having an unspeakable amount of power in his grasp. I'm sure you can understand that whatever it is will have to wait."

"I'm afraid this can't wait." McGonagall responded urgently, motioning for him to follow her out into the entrance hall.

Charlie, Tara and Harry stood outside the Great Hall doors, talking quietly to each other. Tara was behind Harry, with a gentle and reassuring hand resting on his right shoulder.

"Ah, we have another problem, I see," said Dumbledore lightly, taking note of the developing black eye on Harry's face.

"And it could have been a much larger problem if we hadn't intervened." Charlie explained.

Harry's hands were tensed into fists at his sides. "He was only getting what he deserved, Professor! He sold Dawn to _them_!"

"Harry," began Tara, however she was unable to finish.

Dumbledore held his hands up to break up the chaos before him. He was unsuccessful, however, as Hermione and Ron appeared on the scene, to make matters more complicated.

"Professors," Hermione first acknowledged to the Headmaster and Deputy Headmistress. "Harry, where on earth have you been? I haven't seen you since classes, several hours ago, and you haven't been in the Common Room at all… And where's Dawn, for that matter?"

"And what happened to your eye, mate?" Ron asked confused. "And your leg…"

That directed Hermione's attention down to his leg, and since Madam Pomfrey hadn't the chance to fully mend Harry's injured leg, it was quite evident through the tattered pant leg. She gasped as she looked down at her friend's leg.

"Professor? What is going on?" She asked, turning to Dumbledore. Harry, meanwhile, stood looking down at his feet.

Dumbledore looked down at the bushy-haired Gryffindor sorrowfully, still yet to have informed her of her sister. "Miss Granger, I'm afraid this isn't the right place, nor am I the person to tell to you."

"Harry," he continued, Harry looking up at the mention of his name. "I believe now is the time to let your friends in on the matter. Perhaps they could escort you to the Hospital Wing and you could-"

"Ah, I don't think that is such a good idea." Tara stepped in suddenly, recalling the fact that she and Charlie had sent Malfoy there, and the last thing they needed was another confrontation.

The old wizard nodded, trusting the much younger witch's judgment. "Harry, you still need healing, so perhaps the three of you could return to your common room and I shall send Poppy to you," He paused, allowing Tara to give an agreeing nod.

"And Charlie, you should go with them." Tara suggested while surveying her brother carefully to see if he was scheming anything. Charlie didn't hesitate to nod, having witnessed the incident earlier.

Tara placed a brief, comforting hand on Harry's shoulder. "We all really need to talk later on." She said finally, her eyes flicking towards Charlie in particular, he noticed this and gave her a small smile.

* * *

Exhaustion was threatening to take over Tara, it had been one hell of an evening at Hogwarts, and before she let the thought of sleep or sitting down for a quiet meal enter her mind, there was one last thing she had to do.

She entered the Hospital Wing followed by Buffy, who she'd asked to accompany her for a second opinion and intimation purposes. Draco was being treated by Madam Pomfrey, complaining loudly as she attempted to fix his nose, which was most likely broken.

"I'm afraid, Mr. Malfoy, that this may hurt a bit." Pomfrey warned as she prepared to cast a spell to realign the tissue in his nose.

Draco scoffed. "What are you talking about, it already bloody hurts!"

The spell was performed and the nose was as good as new, Draco gave a dramatic cry of pain during this procedure. As an observer, Buffy swore that she saw the slightest look of satisfaction from this on Madam Pomfrey's face, probably due to the fact that the teenage wizard had spent so much time complaining when in the healer's presence.

Both looked over to see Buffy and Tara make their way over to the hospital beds, at this Madam Pomfrey quickly performed a cleaning spell to remove all the semi-dried blood and scuttled off to her office, knowing that the two Professors meant business.

"I will be back soon to treat those bruises." She informed them before entering her office.

Draco, in the meantime, looked displeased to see the pair standing before him.

"How's the nose?" Buffy asked, trying to make conversation.

"Alright now, no thanks to Potter," He simply answered, voice dripping with sarcasm and hatred. "Where is he, anyway?"

"We thought it was best that you both not be treated for your injuries in the same area of the castle… Do you have any idea why Harry attacked you?" Tara asked.

"Because he's a raving bloody lunatic, that's why." Draco spat out.

"We have reason to believe that you do, Mr. Malfoy," Buffy responded back, her arms crossed above her chest. "Dawn Granger has been taken out of the school grounds by Death Eaters."

He gave the two women a look as if to say 'So what?'.

"Harry told me you were the only one who knew what Dawn was, besides just the two of them, Dawn wouldn't give herself up and Harry certainly wouldn't have either." Tara stated.

"Yes, I knew… but maybe someone else… knew too." He replied, which sounded very unconvincing to Buffy.

Buffy frowned and turned to Tara. "Didn't you just say before that the other night you found him wandering around outside suspiciously?"

Tara nodded and continued to address Draco. "Yes, before I caught you and took house points off… even though you said otherwise, I did see you near the forest talking to someone."

"If that doesn't sound suspicious, call me a vampire and put a stake through my heart." Buffy chimed in immediately.

Draco pushed himself off the hospital bed and angrily stood up. "What is this, Professors? It's beginning to feel like an interrogation… I don't know what you're talking about, now can I please be dismissed?"

Buffy sighed and shook her head slowly, and with that he was out of the Hospital Wing like a rocket. She looked over at Tara, who was in deep thought with a confused look on her face.

"So, what do you think? I don't believe a word of it." Buffy said, breaking Tara out of her train of thought.

"Somehow, neither do I… there's more going on to this than we both know." Tara answered as she headed over to Madam Pomfrey's office to tell her where to find and treat Harry.

* * *

"I-I don't understand!" Hermione exclaimed as she sat in the Common Room with Ron, Harry and Charlie.

This was a rare thing to hear from the brilliant young witch, however, she was having a difficult time processing everything she'd just been told. Harry had explained about the book he and Dawn had found and everything they had both been through, while Charlie explained the background on the Key.

"So you basically mean Harry… that Dawn isn't real?" Ron asked as he tried to figure everything.

"No!" Harry was quick answer. "Of course she's real! It's just all these memories we have of her before this school year have been created."

"What… what are they going to do to her?" Hermione asked apprehensively to either Charlie or Harry, her hands covering her face in pain.

Watching Hermione deal with everything about her sister was enough to make Harry think that he'd been selfish and thoughtless. Only an hour ago he'd thought that he was angst-ridden over Dawn's uncertain fate, but one look at Hermione's reaction made him lower his head sadly to look at a particularly uninteresting spot on the carpet.

Charlie also grimaced at this question. "Well… unfortunately the only thing we knew in the Order is that with the Key in his possession, you-know-who would have an ultimate amount of power... What he uses it for, we don't know… and what that will do to Dawn is also unknown. I'm sorry; the Order is going to do all it can."

At those words, Hermione felt like she was suffocating for fresh air and raced out of the portrait hole, while the three wizards sadly watched her go. Harry was about to follow after her when Madam Pomfrey made a highly rare appearance into the Common Room.

"Ah, there you are, Mr. Potter!" She cried out with relief when her eyes fell upon him. "I will have no more running off now until you're fully treated, which seems to be what all my students are doing this evening! You may perhaps have to stay overnight, I can't guess what damage you've done to your leg… running around on it when it's only half-healed." She shook her head disapprovingly at this comment.

"Isn't Malfoy in the Hospital Wing? That's why we brought Harry up here to be treated." Charlie pointed out.

She shook her head. "No, that's what I was just saying; Mr. Malfoy had gone back to his Common Room before I'd even finished on his bruises… Well, off we go, Potter."

Harry regretfully followed the school healer, telling Ron that he'd see him later on.

When it was just the two Weasley's left, Charlie turned to Ron with an expectant look. "Well, little brother… what about Hermione?"

"What about Hermione?" Ron enquired, clearly not on the same page as his brother.

Charlie rolled his eyes. "She's obviously upset right now and is going to need someone to talk to, go find her."

"I don't know where she'll be."

"I'm sure you'll figure something out…" Charlie answered, taking note of the time on his watch. "I have to be back at headquarters now. Goodnight, Ron."

* * *

Ginny's outburst of anger earlier still hadn't fully receded as she went up to the Astronomy Tower, where she always liked to go when she wanted to mull things over. She was mentally kicking herself as she gazed up at the distant stars.

"How could I ever think that for a minute Malfoy wouldn't tell anyone?" She thought to herself.

"More importantly… when they said he'd been disowned by his parents, that was probably a whole big set-up to get inside Grimmauld Place and find out all they could about the Key." Ginny brought her knees up to her chest and rested her head on them.

"Malfoy's are all a bunch of scheming bastards!" She voiced out loud, allowing her voice to bounce off from wall to wall.

Ginny brushed away the tears of frustration that had begun to trickle down her face. The part that confused her most is that she was not only disappointed in herself for allowing all of the mess to occur, but she also felt some disappointment towards Draco and she wasn't even sure why.

Had that explosion of anger when she'd found out about Dawn come from the fact that she'd grown to trust Draco, so much that she expected that he wouldn't say anything? That thought scared the hell out of her.

She didn't know what she was going to say to anyone else, especially Dumbledore – what was she going to tell Dumbledore about all of this? A voice in the back of her mind convinced her that maybe, for the meanwhile, she shouldn't say anything.

* * *

**A.N – There you have, see you with a new chapter in another eight months, lol. Only kidding, but still unless I suddenly get a dozen or so motivating reviews there still won't be another update right away. HINT: Please review!! – Akalea :)**


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